Blood on Blood
by EricsValkyrie
Summary: Set after Dead as a Doornail but before Definitely Dead- Eric asks Sookie for a favor. Takes place before Quinn shows up at Merlotte's and asks Sookie out. Rated M for lemons
1. Chapter 1

Blood on Blood

Set after _Dead as a Doornail_ but before_ Definitely Dead_-Eric now knows he and Sookie were lovers but doesn't remember it. Sookie has moved back into her house. Quinn has not come to see her yet, and in this version probably won't. Rated M for lemons later. Still in progress – but I had to post, it has been too long since my last story.

I don't own the characters or the world, I just think about them a lot.

Chapter 1 – A Surprise Guest

Sookie drove up her driveway around to the back door. She turned off the car and let her arms fall limply into her lap. She had never felt so tired. She had been up and out of the house early to run some long postponed errands and then she worked an extra half-shift on top of her full shift, because Arlene's daughter was sick and Sam had asked with puppy-dog eyes. Not his literal puppy-dog eyes, he didn't shift or anything, but she gave in. Grabbing her purse, she opened the car door and turned in her seat, gingerly lowering her feet to the ground. As she put weight on them she winced and berated herself for about the hundredth time that night. "What was I thinking wearing heels to work?" she mumbled to herself, but she knew why. To make her legs and butt look great which translated into bigger tips. Since she had spent almost all she had made hiding Eric to make up the difference between what the insurance paid out for the fire and what the new kitchen cost her, she felt the need to bolster her savings. But as she stood and her eyes watered at the pain she decided it wasn't worth it.

As she turned and shut the car door, she realized her kitchen light was on. She didn't usually leave it on, but her head had been so full of to-do lists this morning that she wasn't surprised. Thinking of her to-do lists made her look sullenly at the bags in the backseat. She really should bring them in but she just couldn't find the energy to do it tonight. Turning she walked, more like hobbled, to the steps leading up to her enclosed porch and opened the outer door. As soon as she entered it she kicked off the offending shoes, sighing as her feet touched the cool wood. She stood there for a moment feeling the bones shift back into place and wondered if this was what shifting felt like.

She took a tentative step and, while it felt like someone had beaten the soles of her feet, it was much better now that the shoes were off. Getting to her back door she turned the key and opened it, then shrieked, jumping backwards. Which was a mistake on her sore feet and she yelped in a mixture of pain and shock.

The source of that shock, Eric, jumped up from where he had been seated at her table and was lifting her before she could blink. "Sookie are you hurt? What happened to your feet?" He was lowering her onto one of the kitchen chairs.

"What happened?" She shouted back, "I was just frightened half to death! What were you thinking? How did you get in, and why?"

"Your bedroom window was open. I didn't mean to frighten you. I assumed you would scan your house before you enter it, especially after that Pelt woman ambushed you. You really need to develop a better sense of self-preservation." He shook his head disapprovingly.

"I wouldn't have known it was you. I would have known there was a vampire in my house, but not which vampire." Her dander was up. "Don't even try to make it my fault that you scared me." She went to stand, but it was a mistake and with a wince and sharp intake of breath fell back into the chair.

Eric crouched and grabbed one of her ankles pulling up her foot and cradling it in his other hand. The coolness of his touch soothed her foot instantly at the same time her body began to respond in other ways. She tried to pull her foot back but he held it firm.

"What happened to your feet?" He began running his fingers across it gently, checking for injuries and she squirmed in the chair.

"Oh, I was stupid and wore high-heels to work." Fighting back a giggle as his touch tickled. "Eric, let go." She demanded wearily. He shifted his grip instead of letting go and pressed his thumbs into her sole and she melted, it felt so good, yet hurting at the same time. His cool fingers expertly kneaded and rubbed her foot, further shifting the misplaced bones and easing the pain in the muscles. She could not suppress the moan of relief.

"Are you sure you want me to let go?" he teased, watching the pleasure of her face.

She just shook her head, closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair. Part of her mind was telling her that this wasn't a good idea, that it could easily get out of hand, but her flesh was weak. When he gently set the foot he had been working on down, she actually lifted her other foot for him, before she realized what she was doing. Stealing a glance at him she saw his self-satisfied smirk as he concentrated on this foot. She closed her eyes again, losing herself in the sensation.

She hadn't realized she had dozed off until she felt Eric kissing his way up her inner thigh. At first, dreamily forgetting when she was she murmured "Mmm, Eric." then she jerked back in her chair. "Eric!" she chastised him.

He grinned up at her and fang was showing. "According to you, we have done this before. I'm finding it incredibly unfair that you get to remember and I don't." One hand was still on her leg, stroking the back of her knee and sending waves of heat straight to her core. She moved her leg out of his grasp and he let it go. Shrugging, then rising to his feet in a lithe movement, he added, "One day I will remember."

"I know." She replied in a small voice. She rubbed her hands across her face to wipe away the sleep and hide her embarrassment. "Eric, why are you here? I'm sure you didn't just happen by to give me a foot massage." She uncovered her face to look at him in the chair opposite her and that is when she saw the food in front of her. There was bread and cheese and fruit along with an open bottle of wine. She realized her mouth was hanging open and closed it before asking "What's all this?"

He shrugged, "A peace offering. To apologize for Charles and..." he shifted slightly. "...to ask you a favor." He gestured at the food, "Please, eat, you must be hungry."

Reaching for a slice of apple, she paused remembering her manners. "Thank you, can I get you a True Blood?" Trying to remember if she had any to offer.

"I'll get it, you eat." He stood and went to her new refrigerator and rummaged around. She caught herself staring at his butt as he bent over and quickly shifted her eyes back to the food and began nibbling.

When he continued searching she asked apologetically, "Am I out?"

He straightened and nodded. She felt Gran's disapproval weighing down on her. "I'm sorry, I haven't had any vampires over since I moved back in. I wish I had something to offer you." He gave her a mischievous look and let his fangs run out. She just rolled her eyes and picked up a piece of cheese. "My hospitality only goes so far."

He sheathed his fangs and retook the seat across from her.

"What's the favor? I mean it must be pretty big to warrant a picnic. Usually you just tell me to do something and expect me to do it."

"Correction, in the past I demanded of Bill that you perform a task for me, however since you are no longer Bill's..." there was a question in his tone and she nodded and looked down, "...then I have to ask you directly."

"So you are softening me up with a late night snack?"

"Since you appear to be immune to my charms when I am in my right mind I could not seduce you into it. Could I?" He looked hopeful.

"No." she said indignantly, but she knew he probably could, since just sitting this close to him made her want to jump him. But she didn't want him to know that. "But you could have just held me to my promise."

"Ah, that was my ace in the hole." He grinned at her. "If my charm and the food failed, and when you inevitably argued and dug your heels in when I tried to demand it, I was going to pull that out. But I didn't want to if I didn't have to. As you said then it is better if you are willing."

"You still haven't told me what the favor is. How am I supposed to argue and dig my heels in, if I don't even know what I am arguing about?"

"Since when has that stopped you?" He winked and she smiled. She was eating a piece of bread and feeling happy. She and Eric seemed to have slid back into the odd rapport they had before his amnesia. A bit of humorous baiting mixed with Eric's obvious seduction attempts.

"Come on, out with it."

Eric's demeanor changed and he leaned forward. "Thalia's missing." He stated plainly.

"Missing? Are you sure she just didn't leave? She never seemed to be happy here." Although Sookie couldn't really picture Thalia happy at all. But there was no sense going looking for a vampire who did not want to be found.

"That's what I thought at first, but we caught someone with 'V' at the bar and it was her blood. We then went to her home and all her things were there and the doors were unlocked."

"Did the person at the bar say where they got the 'V'?" Sookie was sure they had tried to glamor the info out of him, but since Eric didn't volunteer she decided to ask.

"Apparently, 'Some dude in the bar' was selling it." Eric actually made finger quotes and it looked odd coming from him. "He went on to describe what could be anyone of half our clientele since they are lacking in originality."

"So you want me to see if I can get a picture of the dealer from this guy?"

"That, or hang around the bar and see if you can find out who it is." He reached out and covered her hand. "I know that Thalia is not your favorite vampire but this must be stopped."

"Eric, it doesn't matter if I like Thalia or not, and I don't dislike her." He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay, she really scares me. But I agree it has to be stopped." She glanced at her calendar on the wall. "I'll have to arrange to get a few nights off from Sam." She looked glum.

"Will the shifter give you a hard time over this? I will talk to him, he owes me a favor."

"Can you please just call him Sam? He doesn't call you 'the vampire." Pompous-ass vampires she thought. "And no he won't give me a hassle, it's just..." She let it trail off. She really couldn't afford to miss many days of work, but you don't charge for doing a favor.

Eric seemed to pick up her train of thought. "I thought you could pose as a waitress, that will get you out mingling with the crowd, so I would pay you for that and I daresay the tips will be better."

"That's a good idea except I really don't look like your other waitresses." Sookie pictured the thin, pale goths who tended to work there, nor did she have the right clothes.

"Not a problem. Pam has volunteered to take care of that. In fact, she seems to be looking forward to it. I think she spent the entire evening shopping. I haven't seen her this excited in years." Mischief twinkled in his eyes.

"Wait, she's already been shopping? What if I had said no?" She was a little indignant that her cooperation had been taken for granted.

"I posed that question to Pam, but she seemed to be certain that I would be able to use my charms to convince you." He flashed her his most seductive smile, but then looked somewhat furtive. "Plus I had my ace."

Sookie was somewhat appeased, and she realized she probably wouldn't have said no anyway.

"Well, I'm glad you used your charm. Should I be at Fangtasia at dark?" and then she thought of the long drive that would be. "Do you think I'll need to stay until closing?"

"Probably, or at least pretty close to it, we tend to be busy until we kick the customers out." He saw her worried look and added. "You should stay in town, it will be easier on you."

She shook her head quickly, her heart began pounding. Did he mean for her to stay with him? She knew that if she and Eric stayed in the same house together she _would_ eventually succumb to his charms again. "I couldn't impose like that." She felt her face stretch into her nervous smile.

His eyes grew wide and he was kneeling in front of her again, he looked like he was going to clutch her knees but pulled his hands back, a haunted look in his eyes. "Sookie, tell me the truth, when I was staying here, did I..." He looked as though he had something incredibly foul-tasting in his mouth. "...did I force myself upon you?"

Her jaw dropped and she stared at him aghast. Had her refusal to talk about it make him worry that he had done such a thing. He was looking at her, pleading with his eyes that she would tell him it wasn't true. "Oh Eric, no, you didn't force me." She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she saw the relief wash over his face. She raised a hand to his cheek. "I wanted it, I wanted you."

He gently took her hand and brought it to his lips, tenderly kissing her palm. "Thank you, that has been preying on me, what I might have done. How I might have hurt you. Since then you have been so distant, reluctant to be alone with me that it seemed too likely. And just now, your fear at the thought of staying in Shreveport made me believe it was true."

"I'm sorry, I never dreamed that was what you were thinking. If I had I would have told you right away."

"Did I not satisfy you? Is that why you no longer want me?" He moved his hand to the side of her face, keeping her from turning her head, his thumb gently stroked her cheek. She kept herself from leaning into it through sheer force of will. She shifted slightly, obviously her secrets had been plaguing him in ways she never intended, she had never meant for them to eat away at him so viciously. "Oh no, you satisfied me all right, there were some mornings I could barely walk I was so satisfied."

"Then why aren't we lovers still?" he persisted, he just wasn't going to let it drop. "You aren't involved with anyone else now are you?" She really did not want to have this conversation, her own feelings were so conflicted she didn't think she could explain.

"No, I'm not, but it's more complicated than that. You're more complicated."

"How?" His hand shifted a little further back, just behind her ear, his thumb still tracing a light path across her skin. She knew she should try to pull away but her body craved any contact with his.

"You're Sheriff of Area Five, you run multiple businesses, you enforce vampire law, you have a thousand plus year history I know next to nothing about, you think of most humans as vermin, you have – I don't know how many vampires at your beck and call and a bar full of women and men throwing themselves at you every night." She took a deep breath, since all of that had tumbled out in one. "I have no idea where in all of that I would be."

He opened his mouth to say something and she covered it with her hand. "No, let me finish." She took another deep breath to collect her thoughts before continuing. "When you were here, you were '_My Eric_'..." she didn't use finger quotes but there was an emphasis on those last 2 words. "We were almost equals. Sure, you could still kill me quicker than I could blink if you wanted, but you needed me. Not just for sex, but companionship. We protected each other. We were both lost when it came to vampire politics and we could just be with each other. It was simple but wonderful, and I knew where I stood, I was at the top, maybe second only to you getting your memory back." She met his eyes, hers seeking understanding.

His were thoughtful, releasing the side of her head he gently took her hand and held it loosely. "What," he began slowly, "would you have done, if when my memory came back I didn't forget my time here?"

She dropped her eyes, unable to meet his, and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I don't know. I worried about that the whole time because that was what I assumed would happen. And then, after I killed Debbie, I was afraid because you were the only one who knew about it and it gave you such power over me." She looked at him and her eyes were filled with tears. "But a part of me was so hurt that you couldn't remember how close we were." Her voice cracked and she looked up at the ceiling to fight back the tears. But one rebellious tear rolled down her cheek followed by another on the other side. She went to wipe them away but Eric stayed her hand as he rose up on his knees, leaned in and kissed them away, his lips parted letting his tongue flick to her cheek. Catching both tears, he shifted to her mouth in a kiss that was gentle and tender, undemanding. He pulled back, waiting to see if she would push him away, and a part of her wished she could, but that was not the part of her controlling her body.

She closed the distance, kissing him deeper, her tongue exploring to find his. Her knees parted so he could lean in closer to her. Her body responding like the intervening months never happened. Her hands reached around him and they remembered all the contours of his back. She pulled him in, holding onto him as if he were the only thing real in the world. One of his hands buried itself in the hair at the back of her head while the other began stroking her back, sending tingles up her spine. As she pulled back to breathe Eric's lips left her mouth and kissed a path back to her ear, which he nuzzled and nipped causing her breath to come in short gasps.

But inside she was struggling to control her body. Her body craved him and didn't care about anything but the now and the pleasure that was building. But she did care, she didn't want to be a conquest of Eric's. A trophy to hold over Bill or just one in a long line of disposable lovers. She needed to be special to someone. She wanted to be in a relationship that meant something. She wanted to love and be loved back.

She hadn't noticed that her gasps had become sobs, but Eric did. "Sookie, what's the matter?" He pulled back from her in shock. He held her face between her hands, searching it for the reason behind her tears. His confusion and concern only proved to strengthen her sobs. He released her as if she had scalded him, rising to his feet he slowly backed away. "I thought you wanted...when you responded I thought you did so willingly. That is the only way I want you, willing. You must know that." There was hurt in his eyes, he needed confirmation that she believed him.

Still fighting the sobs she nodded, unable to speak. She was confusing him and he was always so sure of everything that he was at a loss what to do. God, she thought, I am just making a mess out of everything. Which just made her cry more.

He took a half step toward her then stopped. He put his hands in his pockets, possibly to look less threatening, maybe to keep from touching her. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked softly.

She thought about that for only a second, she was terribly embarrassed at her outburst but she didn't want to chase him away. He deserved an explanation. She shook her head and stood, bracing for the pain in her feet and surprised it was all but gone. She forced herself to form words. "I'm going to go clean up." She took a long stuttering gasp. "Please wait in the living room. I'll be out soon."

She headed for her bathroom and splashed water on her face. Looking in the mirror she winced, she looked awful, her eyes all puffy, her cheeks splotchy. She heard her gran lecturing her again on how she was a Stackhouse woman and Stackhouse women were stronger than that. She took a deep breath to steady herself and left the bathroom. She entered the living room to find Eric pacing on the far side.

"Eric, please sit."

"Sookie, you must believe me..." He began but she held up a hand and gestured for him to sit on the sofa. He looked exasperated but sat on the edge, though he looked like he would leap up at any second.

She rounded the recliner and also sat on the edge. "Eric, I owe you an explanation and I need to get it out, so please don't interrupt." She took a deep breath. "It's not a fear of you that scared me at the thought of staying in Shreveport. I'm afraid of me." She glanced at him and saw the confusion on his face, it looked so unnatural there that she quickly looked back at her hands. "I, my body, want you so badly. Being this close to you," her hands indicated the distance between them, "it takes all of my self-control to not touch you, not throw myself at you." Looking at him again, she saw that he liked this news, his arrogant expression was coming back.

"I don't see a problem with that." He smiled at her and she had to fight to keep from closing the distance.

"No, I know you don't, but I do. Eric, what am I in your life? I need to know where I stand, what this means or I will end up hating myself and maybe you." She took another deep breath. "I know this probably makes no sense to you but Bill was my first and the only other lover I have ever had was you. I thought I knew where I stood with Bill but I was wrong and the pain almost killed me. I knew where I stood with you while you were here, but that's changed. I don't jump from bed to bed. I need to feel something for the man I am with and believe he feels something for me." She finally met his eyes and held them. "Does that make any sense to you?"

He nodded, "It does, I think, you are trying to protect your heart, which is very delicate." He smiled tenderly at her and she melted a little more. "But I don't have an answer for you. I don't know where you fit in my life, though I feel an emptiness when you are not there. I do feel something for you and it surprised even me when I realized it was more than just lust. But it has been a very long time since I even contemplated other feelings for a human that I am not sure what they are."

She nodded, swallowing hard and lowering her eyes to her hands again. "I understand that, I would have been suspicious if you had suddenly professed your undying love for me." She tried not to sound hurt that he didn't. "I'll still help you find Thalia." she added with a weak smile.

"Thank you. I'll make things easy for you, I will arrange it so we are not alone together. Pam will take you wherever you need to go at night. We have an apartment we keep for out of town visitors, it is empty now and at your disposal."

"That sounds nice." The awkwardness had sprung up between them again and she knew it was her fault. "Eric..." she began, but she did not know what to say.

"As for myself, I will be on my best behavior. I will not try to seduce you until I have an answer for you. I want your heart to be as willing as your body." He inclined his head to her in a slight bow and she smiled in appreciation. But when his face came up there was unmistakeable hunger and passion in it and it lit a fire deep within her. "Do not think that I no longer burn for you." He stood and reached into his pocket, pulling out keys and a piece of paper. "Here are the apartment keys and directions. Be there at sunset and Pam will meet you." He put them on the low coffee table, so their hands would not accidentally touch.

"Thank you for understanding Eric." Sookie stood to see him out, but he was already gone.


	2. Chapter 2

I've aways liked Pam's relationship to Sookie in the books better than the show. This plays on that.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. You all are great!

Chapter 2 – Girl Talk

Sookie glared in her rearview mirror at the driver honking in the car behind her. She knew she was going too slow, but she had never driven in this area of Shreveport and she was looking for the apartment. Looking forward again she saw the street she needed, almost passing it and turned too quickly, causing her little car to fishtail slightly. The building looked very high end, but then vampires like style. She parked in an unmarked space and got her suitcase out of the back. Pam might be supplying her Fangtasia wardrobe, but if she needed to do any daywork she would need something appropriate.

It was becoming twilight as she entered the building and found the elevator. As the doors closed behind her she saw there was no button for the floor that she was supposed to be going to, but there was a place for a key. Pulling out the keyring Eric had left with her, she inserted an oddly shaped key whose purpose had eluded her until now. Once she turned it the elevator began moving. Of course, Eric had gotten the penthouse.

The doors opened on total darkness. She took the key and shifted her suitcase so it would block the elevator doors open and started feeling along the wall for a light switch. She knew it wasn't that dark out yet so the apartment was obviously light tight. Why bother getting the penthouse if you have no view? She wondered to herself. Her hand found a bank of switches and she flipped them all, reasoning she could turn them off one-by-one later to figure out what they do.

Lights began to flicker on, revealing a room the size of the entire ground floor of her house - including the porch. The room had two conversation areas, couches and chairs arranged in a horseshoe, each with a huge flatscreen TV. It also included a dining area and a kitchen separated by a bar. It was professionally decorated, looking luxurious but in the highest of taste. The walls were originally floor to ceiling windows, but they had been covered over by something on the outside.

Remembering her manners she realized she was still holding up the elevator and retrieved her suitcase.

The wall the elevator was on had a door so she headed to that. It led to a hall with three doors on the left and one on the right. She tried the first on the left and it led to a bathroom. It had the necessary facilities and a large modern shower. The countertops, the shower walls, as well as the floor were polished stone of a warm tan, the walls painted to match.

She moved on to the next room which was a bedroom larger than her own. Sliding mirrored doors ran the entire length of one wall, the dresser and armoire were sleek and modern. The only thing missing was a bed, where it should be was a coffin, Sookie hoped it was empty. The next room was the same.

She then backtracked up the hall to the door on the other wall. This room was almost the length of both of the other bedrooms. She noted thankfully that it did have a bed, the biggest bed she had ever seen. It was twice as wide and about half again as long as the king size bed that Jason had. She wondered why anyone would need a bed that big. She guessed probably at least six people could fit in it easily. Then the realized that that was probably what it was for and shuddered. Turning away from it, she looked around the rest of the room. There was a small sitting area and a desk with a computer.

The wall to the back of the room had two doors. The first held a walk-in closet that was almost the size of her kitchen. It had drawers and shelves, a lot of littles cubbies for shoes and plenty of rods for hanging clothes. She was sure that if she still-owned all the clothes she ever had it wouldn't even half fill it. She parked her suitcase there and went to the next door. The master bathroom took her breath away. It was bigger than her bedroom, there was a large shower stall that had multiple shower heads arranged vertically along three of the walls and she forced herself not to think of how many people could fit in it at once. The bathtub was really a hot tub complete with jets along the side. The whole room except the ceiling was done in the tan stone tiles with large black diamond-shaped stones inset every two feet or so. With relief she finally found the commode in an alcove that was almost impossible to see from the door.

As she opened the door leading to the bedroom and shrieked, jumping back. "Pam! You nearly scared me to death!" She admonished the grinning vampire. "Couldn't you have let me know you were here?"

"I'm here." she deadpanned with a shrug. Sookie rolled her eyes.

"Thanks a bunch." Her eyes fell upon the stack of packages on the bed "What is all that?" she asked moving to the bed as Pam turned to look.

"Didn't Eric tell you I was picking up a few things for you?" She looked surprised, or as surprised as Pam ever looked.

"This is not 'a few things'." It was more than she would buy in a year. "How long do you think this investigation is going to take?"

Pam just shrugged and started opening the packages. She moved to the bathroom with an armload of cosmetics and jerked her head for Sookie to follow. "I have my own make-up..." she began but Pam raised a skeptical eyebrow.

She pulled out a vanity chair. "Take off your shirt and bra and sit." She ordered in a no nonsense voice, but there was an excited gleam in her eye. She began to open the cosmetic packages.

"What? Why do I have to strip to the waist to put make-up on?" She was really uncomfortable with that.

Pam turned and looked at her imperiously. "I am going to attempt to cover your tan, the dress has some cleavage, I am assuming your tan is all over?" She was eyeing Sookie appraisingly.

"Not quite all over... Fine, I'll be right back." She went to the closet, opened her suitcase and pulled out a light half robe. Then stripped to the waist before pulling her robe on. Stomping back into the bathroom and sitting on the chair in a huff. "There."

"Still modest I see, how disappointing." Sookie blushed under Pam's lascivious look and reached for the foundation.

Pam held it up out of reach. "Ah, ah, ah, Eric said I would get to make you up, besides it will be faster if you cooperate." She smiled like a child about to get a treat and started applying the foundation before Sookie could argue further. Sookie had been afraid that anything that could cover up her tan would be thick and heavy but this felt very light. She looked at the packaging, it seemed fairly upscale, but she scoffed at the name "VampBait". Pam did move faster than a human and her hand was down between Sookie's breasts before she realized it. Sookie jerked back.

"Just how much cleavage does this dress have?" She asked nervously as Pam ran a stripe of make-up to her navel. Pam just curled her mouth in a wicked smile and moved back up spreading the opening of the robe and covering her upper chest in make-up down past Sookie's tan line.

"They're natural, how refreshing." Pam commented as her hands moved quickly over Sookie's breasts. Sookie cleared her throat indignantly. Rolling her eyes, Pam moved her hands up to spread make-up over Sookie's shoulders and across her back.

"Is there any dress to this dress?" Sookie asked archly, not expecting a response. "How do you know the blood is Thalia's?" Perhaps getting a little more information about the problem at hand would take her mind off the dress.

"I've tasted her blood before." Sookie decided not to ask how that came about. "It's definitely hers."

"Can we find this guy you questioned before? Maybe I can see the guy in his head."

"He'll be in the bar tonight. We glamored him to return every night until otherwise instructed." Sookie let out a silent sigh of relief, she had been afraid he was being held somewhere.

"Anything I need to know about the bar?"

"You must bow to Eric and call him 'Master'..." she said in her slow drawl.

"Master? I don't think so." Sookie huffed, "Of all the egotistical, arrogant, conceited things I have ever heard of." She was building up to a full head of steam.

"Sookie dear, don't get your panties in a bunch." She stepped back to look Sookie in the face. "It was not his idea, it was mine, the vermin eat it up. Eric hates it."

"He does?" Sookie asked deflating.

Pam set down the foundation and started dusting her with powder. "He hates servile women, he likes women with some moxie." Sookie snorted at the outdated term and Pam ventured "Spunk?" Sookie gave a slight nod. "It's probably part of what he finds so attractive in you." She gave Sookie a serious look. "You have become quite a distraction to him. It's affecting his work. Will you please just have sex with him so he can concentrate again?"

She did not want to have this conversation. "Pam, it's more complicated than that."

"I don't see why, you've had sex with him before, just do it again. Now hold still, I'm going to do your eyes." Sookie closed her eyes and thought about what Pam had said. Was she actually on Eric's mind enough to interfere with his work? Or had he confided in Pam what she had told him and she was telling her what she wanted to hear?

"Look up." Pam commanded and Sookie obeyed, trying not to move as the vampire applied eyeliner, followed by mascara. She tilted Sookie's head from side to side, examining her work. Sookie was getting tired of the makeover already, she tried to peek in the mirror but Pam pulled her head back. "Not until I'm done." Grabbing a blush brush she started applying more make-up to Sookie's face, it wasn't a normal shade, it looked grey from the peek Sookie got.

"Now your hair."

"What about my hair?" She raised a hand self consciously.

"It is too soft and light." Pam stated flatly.

"You are not dying my hair." Sookie insisted.

"No, I didn't think you would let me." Pam picked up a flat iron. "Don't worry, I'll just do the ends, and it will wash right out." Pam then straightened Sookie's hair and applied some black, just to the bottom couple of inches.

As Pam stepped back to get the effect Sookie asked. "Is my head done yet?"

"Just the lips left." Pam picked up a tube and applied something that felt thick and glossy. Admiring her masterpiece, she gestured for Sookie to turn around. "You may look now."

Curious despite herself Sookie turned and looked in the mirror, she barely recognized herself. Her skin was pale, her tan completely covered and yet the make-up did not look thick or fake. Her eyeshadow and blush were in shades of grey but it was applied with just the right touch, any heavier and it would look ridiculous. Now it almost looked like she was in a black and white movie, except her lips, which looked like they were covered in fresh blood. She brought a finger up to them expecting the gloss to wipe right off, thinking she would have to reapply it constantly through the night, but it was dry though it still looked wet. Her hair was parted in the middle and framed her face. The bottom three inches were jet black and it reminded her of feathers.

"Well?" Pam waited impatiently for her opinion.

"Wow, I can hardly tell it's me."

"That's the idea, if whoever it is has been hanging around the bar for a while, they might have seen you talking to Eric before and be suspicious. Which brings me to your name."

"My name?" She looked away from her strange reflection to look at Pam.

"Yes, your name is odd and distinctive. While you are at the bar you will go by a different name."

"Like Mary or something?"

Or something," Pam agreed. "You will answer to Desirée. Now let me get your clothes."

"Desirée?" Sookie turned back to the mirror. Well I definitely don't look like me, but Desirée? Is that even a name?

She saw Pam come back in and hang a dress bag on a hook and bring her a small box. "Your undergarments."

"Thank you." Sookie said as she took the box. Pam did not move and Sookie cleared her throat.

Rolling her eyes Pam said "Fine, I'll hang up your other things." Pam turned and left the bathroom, but she left the door open. Sookie followed and closed it. Opening the box with mixed emotions, she reopened the door to call to Pam.

"There's no bra in here." she pointed out.

"You don't need one."

"Pam, I need a bra." she stated emphatically. Nature had been generous with her, she always wore a bra.

"The dress will take care of it," She was carrying several garment bags to the closet. "trust me."

Closing the bathroom door again, Sookie started untying her robe as she walked back over to the vanity chair. Then she examined the contents of the box. There was a black lace thong, a garter belt and black hose that had teardrop shaped red crystals in a line down the side. She put them on then approached the dress bag with some trepidation. As expected the dress was black and though it had a zipper in the back it was slit down the front to her navel and would lace up, of course it didn't cover the skin in that gap, but at least it would be closed. The neckline was broad, barely sitting on her shoulders and it dipped low in both the front and back. The skirt was floor length but was no more than a tapered front and back panel sewn together high on the thigh. Her legs would be exposed almost to the top of the stockings. The sleeves however were long and had extra material hanging down. She stepped into the dress and since it was not tightly laced she was able to zip it up, but she could not seem to get the laces right. Setting her jaw in frustration she opened the bathroom door, not surprised to find Pam standing right there.

"Can you lace this please?"

"With pleasure." She said with a twinkle in her eye, she was enjoying this way too much. She pulled the laces tight enough that the dress would stay up while she settled it on Sookie's shoulders and then started at the bottom again pulling them tighter.

"Pam, how did you know my size?" it had only just dawned on her that somehow the vamp had to have known.

"Eric told me."

"How did he know?"

"Last night while he was waiting for you to get home he called and told me." She stated matter-of-factly. "Hold still."

"He went through my closet? My dresser?" She felt invaded. "How long was he at my house?"

"He headed over at sunset, I don't know if he stayed at your house the whole time." She shrugged, "Stand up straight." Sookie straightened, then jumped when Pam reached into the dress and lifted a breast.

"Pam!" Her hand came up to remove Pam's, but Pam grabbed it and moved it up under the breast outside the dress.

"Hold this." she demanded and repeated the procedure on the other side. So there Sookie stood, holding both breasts very high as Pam adjusted the dress and lacings around them. She could feel her face burn and looked up to silently ask for strength. "Okay, let go." she was instructed as Pam stood back.

Sookie let go and looked down in surprise when she realized they did not move when she dropped them. "Oh my God! I can't go out like this." Her breasts were very high and out there, she doubted if even a quarter inch of material kept her legal.

"Oh Sookie, you are such a prude. Here, sit on the bed I'll get your shoes." Pam went into the closet as Sookie moved to the bed. She found she had to sit very straight since the dress was laced so tight. Pam came out holding a shoebox. She recognized the brand from magazines and knew the shoes had to cost more than one of her paychecks.

"Pam, those are way too expensive. I can't wear those ."

"Nonsense, I got them on sale." She opened the box and pulled out one of the shoes. If ever there were shoes worthy of the name "fuck-me" shoes these were it. They had multiple ankle straps and way too high a heel.

"I'm going to break my neck if I try to walk in these, and even if I don't, I won't be able to walk for a week. I wore heels less than half that high to work and I could barely walk from my car to my house."

Pam was already kneeling and strapping them to her feet. Straightening she commanded "Up." gesturing for Sookie to do so. Planting her feet solidly she carefully stood, working to find her balance as she did. While her feet felt odd in this new position, the shoes were not as uncomfortable as she expected. Pam indicated she should walk, so she took a few short, stilted steps. Shaking her head Pam instructed. "Walk, like you normally do." Sookie glared at her but took a few longer strides and managed to keep her balance as she did. Pam nodded approval. Then rotated her finger, signaling Sookie to turn for her. Obeying, she slowly began to turn, but stopped when she caught sight of herself in the full-size mirror. She was awestruck. She didn't think anyone who had just seen her in passing would have recognized her. In fact, she was pretty sure a few people from home would have to do a double take.

"Wow, Pam, I don't even recognize me."

"Am I good or am I good?" Pam asked with a self-satisfied smile as she walked up next to her dress-up doll. "Now the only thing is your expression."

"My expression?"

"Yes, none of your half-crazed smile, remember, you are a pathetic fangbanger. Your only goal is to get a vampire, any vampire, to pay attention to you. You must look tragic and melancholy." Her voice dripped with disdain.

"Gee, how do you really feel about them?"

Ignoring Sookie's snark, the vampire picked up her purse. "Are you ready to go?"

"I just need a drink of water before we go, that won't smudge the lipstick will it?"

Before she knew what happened, Pam was kissing her, Sookie's gasp of surprise allowed Pam to sneak her tongue in. After a moment of shock Sookie pulled her head back. "Pam!" Great, just what I need, another vampire after me, although she had to admit Pam was a good kisser.

Pam ran a finger across her lips and held it up. "See no smudging." She had a wicked smile and her fangs were slightly out.

"A simple 'no' will do just fine next time." She would have stomped to the kitchen but couldn't in those shoes. She walked with as much dignity as she could and started opening cupboards. Only one had any contents, wineglasses, but at least it was something to drink from. Moving to the refrigerator she found two shelves of artificial blood but nothing else. The freezer did not even have any ice cubes. Sookie decided that if she could walk tomorrow, not a certainty with these shoes, she would have to do some shopping. She filled the wineglass at the tap and drank. There was no lipstick on the glass when she brought it down. Taking a deep breath she turned to Pam, "Okay, let's go." she grabbed her own purse, which definitely did not go with the outfit at all.

They rode down the elevator in silence, Pam looking smug at how rattled Sookie looked, Sookie trying to calm herself to prepare mentally for the night ahead. She usually shielded herself at Fangtasia, since everyone's mind was usually shouting sexual thoughts. She really wasn't looking forward to scanning the crowd.

"I'll drive." Pam volunteered when Sookie started heading to her car, when she opened her mouth to protest Pam asked, "Can you drive in those shoes?" and Sookie shut-up.

As they were underway Sookie asked, "Are you and Thalia close?"

Pam shrugged, "Not really. We had sex a couple of times but nothing serious."

"Oh." Sookie knew lots of people thought about sex that way but she just couldn't wrap her brain around it.

Pam chuckled and rolled her eyes.

The apartment was close to Fangtasia and the drive was short. As they got out of the car Pam began with instructions. "I'll take you in the employees entrance to your locker, then I will take you to Eric to introduce you. Remember you are Desirée and he is Master. You are to bow to him and show respect."

"If I bow in this dress, I'll fall out of it."

"Eric should enjoy that." Sookie shot her a searing look and Pam said impatiently, "Fine curtsy then, just be deferential to all the vampires, you may treat the vermin as scum."

Storing her purse in the locker, she took a deep breath and let down her shields, fighting to keep the nervous smile off her face. She nodded to Pam, "I'm ready."

"Stay behind me." Pam told her, Sookie huffed but stayed a few steps back.

As they entered the bar area she collided with a wall of lust. It was overwhelming and pervasive and her body reacted as if it were her own. It was almost like the madness the Maenad had used at the lakehouse but instead of being driven insane by others' emotions she was highly aroused. "Pam." she murmured her voice hoarse with passion, and backed up against the wall.

She heard Pam turn and come toward her. "What's the matter?"

"I can't go out there without blocking. All the sexual energy is too overwhelming." She had her eyes closed and was breathing heavy as she tried to raise her blocks and banish the unwanted feelings. When she again opened her eyes Pam was mere inches from her face. Her fangs were out and her eyes glazed.

"You smell delicious." She was breathing in deeply and getting closer to Sookie's neck. "Like a fairy."

"Oh for..., Pam snap out of it." She snapped in front of the vampire's face, but Pam didn't even blink. Sookie tried to sidestep her but Pam grabbed her wrist and with a little tug Sookie lost her balance and fell back toward her. Sookie was near-panicked now. She knew she couldn't break Pam's grip. Pam was again closing in on Sookie's neck, Sookie tried to cover it with her free hand but Pam grabbed it as well and brought both hands up over Sookie's head where she held them with one hand in a vice-like grip. She struggled, but Pam seemed to enjoy that. The vampire smiled at the fear in her eyes and again began moving her face to Sookie's throat. Sookie braced herself for the bite, but Pam inhaled deeply and started licking her skin. Inhaling deeply as she went, she was licking down Sookie's chest and Sookie could feel Pam's free hand unlacing the front of her dress.

"Pam, please! Don't do this! It's Sookie!" She felt the fear battering at her shields and fought to keep them up. She knew if they fell again the lust would overcome her and she would submit to Pam, but with the vampire's current lack of control she didn't think she would survive the encounter. She hadn't screamed up til now because she had hoped Pam would snap out of it and she hadn't wanted to blow her cover, but dead she couldn't help Thalia. As she felt the cold hand grab her breast she took a deep breath to scream but Pam's mouth covered hers, swallowing the scream in a kiss. Sookie felt fangs cut into her lips and knew those few drops of blood would only fuel Pam's blood lust. Pam's hand left her breast and moved to the slit in her skirt, hiking it up and grabbing Sookie's butt. Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Ran through her head.

"Pam!" Eric's voice boomed and Sookie almost wept with relief. But Pam did not release her, rather she pulled her head back to lunge at Sookie's throat. Eric's hand appeared in the space and Pam's fangs sank into it. He let out a hiss and grabbed the hand that was holding Sookie's. When Pam didn't let go he snapped her wrist. Pam's howl of pain was muffled by Eric's hand which he seemed to be purposefully keeping there. Sookie finding herself free stood there for a moment in shock. He looked at her and said urgently, "Go out the back door and wait for me."

Sookie didn't have to be told twice.


	3. Chapter 3

Another big thank you to everyone who has reviewed the first two chapters. It really is great motivation.

Of course, I don't own any of the characters. Hats off to Ms Harris for introducing them to the world.

Chapter 3 – Kiss and Make-up

Holding the front of her dress closed Sookie turned and ran, fighting tears. She got out the backdoor and leaned back against the wall. After a minute of catching her breath and calming down, she started to get herself back into the dress, which was difficult because her hands were shaking. She finally managed to get herself decent, at least as decent as the dress allowed. She crossed her arms in front of herself and gave an involuntary shudder. She could feel her forced calm cracking and tried to distract herself. She wished she had something to clean, that always helped to calm her down, she thought of the apartment she was staying at, it was obviously professionally maintained. What it did need was food, so she began to compile a shopping list to take her mind off of what happened. She was trying to decide if she was going to be here long enough for a full carton of eggs when the door burst open, she jumped, turning toward the door.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Eric, thank you for coming when you did." She went to move closer but he held up a hand. She saw that he had claw marks healing on his face. "Is Pam alright?"

He gave a curt nod. "She will be, I had to knock her out but she'll recover." He looked at her intently. "Is it she you desire, not me?"

Sookie stood there gaping at him, then laughed in disbelief. "She almost drained me and raped me in the hall of the bar!" It then occurred to her that after two other rape attempts and one successful rape by her ex-boyfriend, this one was novel in that it was the first time it was a female assailant. Experiencing new things all the time, that's me and she chuckled and that chuckle became hysterical laughter. Eric looked at her as if she were crazy, and that was suddenly very funny.

"Sookie, you're hysterical." he tried to reason with her.

That just made her laugh more. She would have loved to say 'Gee, you think?' but all that came out was more mad laughter.

He closed the space between them and grabbed her upper arms, looking like he was going to shake her, but was afraid he would hurt her. Then his fangs ran out and his nostrils flared. "You smell like a fairy." Her fear or some self-preservation instinct snapped her out of her hysteria.

"Eric! No! Let go!" she commanded trying to keep the fear out of her voice. He seemed to be fighting the influence better than Pam had. He let go and pointed behind him.

"Move downwind." He said through clenched teeth.

Sookie immediately moved about ten feet down the alley in the direction he had indicated and waited. She knew she needed to get out of here but had no idea how, her car wasn't here, her purse was inside and in it was her money and her keys.

"Have you been around Claudine today?" He asked, his voice taut with control, he hadn't turned around.

"No, I haven't seen her since the fire. Other than going in to tell Sam I needed some time off I didn't see anyone until Pam showed up to get me into this get-up. And she was fine, if a little touchy-feely, until we got to the club."

"I didn't react like this when we were together, correct?" He seemed to be relaxing a little.

"No."

He nodded, "I didn't think so, or you probably would not have survived." He chuckled and turned to face her but not move any nearer. She was relieved to see his fangs had retracted. "So what is different about you tonight, other than the amazing transformation Pam performed." He looked her up and down, it was a definite eye-fuck, but not a threatening one.

Sookie looked down at herself, "Yeah, she made me the perfect little fang-banger. Oh, I'm supposed to go by Desirée and bow and call you Master." she rolled her eyes at the whole masquerade.

"So Pam was fine earlier?" He still wasn't approaching her.

"Other than being overly thorough in applying the make-up, which she enjoyed, yeah." Suddenly she had an idea. "Eric, can you go back into the bar and bring me two napkins?" He looked at her quizzically. "Please, I just had a thought."

He nodded and reentered the bar, Sookie stacked a couple of relatively clean, empty boxes to form a table about midway between where they had been standing and hurried back to her former place. Eric came back out holding the napkins.

"Okay, set them down on the boxes, step back a little and turn around." He arched an eyebrow but complied. She approached the box and picked up one of the napkins, "No peeking." she ordered. Keeping an eye on him she ran the napkin across her neck then set it back on the box. She picked up the other napkin and tried to think of a place that didn't have make-up, finally reaching under her skirt and rubbing it across her thigh, right above the stocking. She then placed it a couple of inches away from the first and hurried back to her original place.

"Okay, you can turn around." He did, his curiosity was definitely piqued. "Go to the box and smell each napkin."

Looking intrigued, he walked up the the makeshift table and picked up the napkin she had rubbed on her thigh and inhaled deeply. He smiled, "It just smells of you, how you normally smell."

"Okay now the other one."

He went to repeat the process but before the napkin was even close to his face his eyes grew wide and he threw it in a foul-smelling puddle that she had been trying to avoid thinking about. She smiled in satisfaction. "It's in the make-up. But why would anyone put eau-de-fairy into make-up for fang-bangers?"

"Could it just smell that way on you? Since you are different somehow?"

"I don't know, would it be safe to test it on anyone else? You saw what it did to Pam."

"I think I could control myself, but probably not a younger vampire." He looked thoughtful, "Why didn't it affect her until you got to the club?"

She shook her head, "Maybe it has to be on a while to heat up." Then she blushed, "Or maybe it reacts to body chemistry. It only happened after I had a little...lust problem."

"I sensed that, for who, Pam?" He looked bitter, maybe even jealous.

"No, not for Pam, it wasn't even my lust." He gave her a skeptical look and she got defensive, "Look, I went in there, not blocking at all, so I could do you a favor and scan the crowd to look for the dealer. Well, I got hit by this wall of lust and my body reacted to it like it was mine. I only just got my shields back up when Pam attacked me." She glanced at the door to the bar. "You know it wouldn't take much to get an orgy started in there." She looked disgusted.

"I've thought something similar for quite sometime." he admitted.

"I'm sorry, I just can't scan the crowd. I can read the guy you caught with the 'V'. Can you get him to come here after closing?"

He shrugged, "I can go see if he is here now."

She took a step back. "No, I'm not going back in there like this. I want to go back and shower. I'll come back later and read him then. Can you go in and get my purse and call me a cab? Pam drove so I don't have a car."

"You can't take a cab." He stated flatly.

"Why not?"

"This time of night a lot of the cab drivers are young vamps." He took a few steps closer and took a deep breath. She tensed but he seemed alright, he approached her one step at a time, pausing to sample the air each time. It was only when he was right up next to her that his fangs ran out, but his eyes did not glaze over. "I know this violates our not being alone together agreement, but I think I can drive you back safely if I keep the top down. If that's alright."

She shrugged, then nodded. There really did not seem to be any other choice. He asked which locker and went back inside. She worked to remain calm, she didn't want any distracting thoughts of being alone with him to trigger the make-up again.

They rode in silence, Sookie could see the muscles flexing in Eric's jaw and knew he was concentrating on maintaining control. She stayed as far from him as the sporty, little convertible allowed. When he had parked in the lot she hurried out of the car. "Thank you Eric. I'll come back to the bar at closing."

He shook his head and surprised her by getting out of the car. "I'm going to walk you to the elevator, a few vampires live in this building."

She looked at the building warily, it suddenly seemed less inviting. She nodded, heading for the door, but Eric moved in front of her, whether to be upwind, or protect her she didn't know. They reached the elevator without encountering any other tenants. When the doors slid open Eric made sure it was empty and waved her inside.

"Are you coming up?" she asked softly, not wanting to be alone in the confines of an elevator with him but afraid of encountering an unknown vampire.

He nodded but added, "I don't think we should ride up together." He was still holding the door. "Once you put the key in it will go up to your floor without stopping so you should be good. I have a few phone calls to make so I will be up soon."

"Okay, um can you do me a favor?" she hated to impose but knew the apartment was sorely lacking in some basic things. "Can you go over to the fast food place over there and pick me up a salad and one of their yogurt things? There's no food in the apartment, and I don't know when I'll get a chance to pick something up."

"A salad and a yogurt thing?" He sounded dubious, she nodded realizing he probably didn't buy food very often.

"Thank you." She said as she put the key in its slot. "I'll see you upstairs." She turned the key and he removed his hand.

The elevator seemed to take forever and she kept expecting some fairy-crazed vampire to rip open the doors as she passed each floor, she let out a sigh when the doors finally opened into her apartment.

She went straight to the bedroom and started to unlace the dress. She had to open it quite a bit before she could turn it around to unzip it the rest of the way. She folded it over a hanger and stretched, happy to be out of the constricting outfit. She sat on the chair and undid the shoes. Her feet were not as sore as she expected. She moved to the shower and started it. It took a bit to figure out all the knobs and settings, but she finally managed to get all three banks of shower heads going on full when she stepped in and it felt marvelous. She was anxious to wash off all traces of the dangerous cosmetic and let the water pound on her. There was a bottle of shower gel, in a brand she recognized but never bought since it was so expensive, but she figured it was probably safe. She scrubbed down twice, then shampooed her hair, the black ends did come out as Pam had promised. Finally deciding that she had wasted enough water, she turned off the shower and wrapped herself in one of the luxurious towels. Quickly brushing the knots out of her hair, she went to her suitcase to get her bathrobe. This was a long and thick terry robe, not the thinner one that had come with a nightgown that she had worn during the make-up process, she decided not to wear that one again until it was washed. She felt more covered than she had in the dress and headed out to the livingroom.

As she opened the door from the hall she saw Eric wandering the room while he talked on the phone. She waited near the door for him to finish, but she noticed that the opaque window coverings were gone and she could see the lights of the city beyond, she made a mental note to ask him how to do that. Unable to keep from overhearing she realized he must be talking to Pam. "Yes, I'll tell her... No, I don't think so..." He saw her in his meandering and nodded at her, but continued his conversation. "No, she's not hurt, at least she does not appear to be." He looked at her questioningly.

"I'm fine Pam." She said loudly to be sure she could hear her.

"Goodnight Pam. Yes, I said I would tell her." He ended the call with a chuckle. "You are amazing Sookie."

"Me? Why?"

"You have managed to do something I didn't think was possible." At her quizzical look he chuckled again. "You managed to make Pam embarrassed." Sookie grinned a little.

"She is okay though?"

He nodded, "The effects have worn off and she has healed from her injuries. She had the same question for you, are you really okay?"

"Yeah, she didn't hurt me, scared the hell out of me, but no injuries."

"Will you feel safe around her?" he was watching her reaction.

She nodded, "As long as no make-up is involved, I think so." She walked a little closer to him. "Is it gone? Am I safe?" He gestured for her to keep approaching while he inhaled deeply. She watched him intently, no fangs, no tension, no glazing.

She stopped just inches from him. "Well?"

"Pam wanted me to tell you she's sorry."

"Tell her it's fine."

"And I'm sorry too..."

"You didn't do anything except save me." She looked confused.

"No, I apologize for this." And without warning he pulled her to him and his mouth was on hers. She felt a moment of panic that the scent was still on her, but she realized this was not like Pam's frenzied attack, this was a seduction. His lips and tongue were exploring her mouth and draining her will. She leaned against him, her hands came to his waist to steady herself. While his began moving over her, one trailed down her back to cover her butt, kneading it softly, the other moved to her breast and rubbed her nipple through the robe. She whimpered into his mouth at the passion rising within her. Her breathing already heavy. He released her mouth and began to trail kisses along her jaw and down her neck, she dug her nails into the small of his back, bracing for his bite. Then suddenly he straightened, a rueful look on his face.

She blinked at the abrupt change. "What...?" she began, looking at him, the muscle was working in his jaw again, and his fangs were still out, he was avoiding looking in her eyes. "Is the smell still there?"

He shook his head, "No, it's gone but I had to be sure it wouldn't flare up if..." he trailed off and looked at her warily.

"That was a test?" she asked indignantly. "You promised to be on your best behavior and then you kiss me like that, with no warning, as a test?"

"Would you have let me if I had told you what I was about to do?"

"No!"

"But I couldn't let you back into Fangtasia without it. What if you had to drop your shields? How many vampires do you think I can take down at once? How long do you think I could resist it myself? It was necessary, and I did apologize." He was being very reasonable and she knew he was right, but that just made her angrier.

"Fine! Since I passed the test, I'm going to go get dressed. She turned to storm out of the room.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked tonelessly, she stopped midstride and realized she didn't.

She sighed, the wind going out of her sails."I'm sorry, no, please stay, there's True Blood in the fridge, really this time." She smiled.

Getting back to her bedroom she headed to the closet to find something to wear. All the dresses Pam had gotten her were hung up, but her own clothes were still in the suitcase. She scolded herself for not hanging them up sooner and did so quickly, setting aside a pair of jeans and a silk blouse, she grabbed her cosmetic bag and went into the bathroom.

She applied her make-up with a light touch then looked at what Pam had brought. It's packaging claimed it was "Irresistible to vampires" and "The closer you get, the closer they'll want to." She set it down with a snort. "It should have a warning label. Side effects may include vampire attack." she said to herself. Looking at the bag she realized it came from the store Claudine worked at which gave her an idea. She headed back out to the living room.

Eric was sitting on one of the couches, there was a True Blood on the table in front of him and he was typing into his phone. When he saw her he finished his text and closed the phone. "I put your food in the refrigerator," he gestured towards the kitchen. "I didn't know how long you'd be."

"Thanks." She headed into the kitchen and laughed when the opened the fridge door. "How hungry did you think I would be?" She asked over the door. There were four salads in addition to the yogurt.

"They had many kinds of salad and you didn't specify. Do they keep?" He had picked up the bottle and strolled to the bar that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.

"For a day or two probably." She picked one at random. She started opening drawers to look for silverware, but other than a corkscrew they were empty. She huffed and went back to the refrigerator to dig a plastic fork out of one of the bags, thankfully there was one there.

"Is something wrong?" Eric could tell she was irritated.

"This place is lacking in some basics." she said with a shrug, not wanting to insult Eric's hospitality. "It isn't very human friendly. There are no dishes or pots and pans." She sat at the bar and started eating.

"I think you are the first human to stay here alone. I would be happy to pay for whatever it needs, would you be willing to shop for it tomorrow?" She had a mouthful of salad so she just nodded. He pulled a money clip from his pocket and peeled off several bills, handing them to her. She almost choked on her salad.

"Eric! This is five hundred dollars."

"Is it not enough?" he reached back into his pocket.

"No, this is way more than enough." She offered him some of the money back, but he shook his head.

"Buy whatever is needed, plus you'll need more make-up."

"If I didn't have any daytime leads on Thalia to follow I was going to the mall tomorrow anyway, to talk to Claudine." He raised an eyebrow. "I'll shower before I come into the bar. But she might be able to help figure out what's up with the stuff."

"Speaking of the make-up can I look at it?"

"Sure, it's in the bathroom off the big bedroom." She thought for a moment of walking him back but decided she really did not want to be with him in either the bedroom or the bathroom. So she picked through her salad, before tying it up in the plastic bag. Looking under the sink she realized a trashcan needed to be added to her shopping list. She went to refill her wineglass from the faucet.

"There's fairy blood in the make-up." he said as he came through the door.

"Are you sure?" The very thought gave her the creeps, she had had it all over herself, she wanted to shower again.

Eric was approaching languidly, "Oh yes." he said with a smile and she noticed he had a dreamy-look on his face and his fangs were out.

"Steady boy." she said half-wary, half-joking. She thought it was best to keep him talking calmly. "So someone is draining vampires and maybe the same person is draining fairies."

"He should try selling it to vampires, it would be easier and it would definitely sell."

"It doesn't seem to make any sense to go to all the trouble they must have gone through to make it into a make-up and market it as "Vamp Bait." She had hoped Eric would have stopped at the other side of the bar, but he was walking around it. She shifted uncomfortably, he was looking at her with lusty, half-open eyes. "Um, Eric, how much of that did you test?"

"Just a little." He said with a coy smile.

Maybe one of us should wait in the other room until you're feeling more yourself." She suggested. "Or maybe you should take a shower."

He was right in front of her now, his hand reaching out to run the back of one finger down her arm. "All by myself?" He actually pouted. Sookie immediately thought of their first shower together and shivered despite the heat rising within her.

His nostrils flared at her arousal and his eyes widened. He moved closer and she backed up against the sink. "A fantasy of yours Miss Stackhouse?" When her only reply was swallowing hard, he moved until there was but a hairsbreadth between them, his hand coming up to stroke her cheek. "Or is it one of those memories you are selfishly keeping to yourself?" Her breath caught.

"Eric, can we talk about this some time when you aren't high?"

"It always seems to be 'another time', you are becoming quite the tease." As he spoke she could feel his lips lightly brush hers, he was that close.

"I don't mean to be, really, but I don't think you're safe right now..."

"Don't ever think I am safe." He smiled wickedly and bent to kiss her. His lips just making contact with hers when he lifted his head and winked at her and snapped his fangs back to wherever it is they go.

She stared at him blankly for a moment then shoved him away. Relief mingling with anger. "My God!" She yelled at him, "Do you even have 'best behavior' in you anywhere? Cause if this is it, it sucks." She glared at him, and he did try to look contrite, but his eyes twinkled with mischief.

She smiled in spite of her self, "Oh for the love of...You must have been a handful when you were little, weren't you?"

"When I was little?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yes, when you were a little boy. You weren't born a six foot four viking vampire were you?" Her tone seemed to imply he was a child now.

"No, but I don't understand what that has to do with anything."

"You must have driven your mother crazy getting into trouble and then looking all innocent, batting your eyelashes and flashing those blue eyes at her." She put her hands on her hips and her eyes dared him to deny it.

He grinned, an open honest smile, causing his eyes to twinkle. "Oh she caught on pretty quickly, my grandmother though I had wrapped around my little finger."

"I knew it." She said smugly. "I bet you were glamoring people before you were even turned."

He tried to look modest but she rolled her eyes. He opened his mouth to answer but his phone rang. He pulled it out and said apologetically. "It's Pam." She nodded and indicated he should go ahead. He put the phone to his ear and asked curtly "Yes Pam?" During the pause he got a rueful smile on his face, "Alas no." he said dramatically and winked at Sookie who figured she probably asked if she had interrupted anything. Another pause and his face instantly became serious. "Is she alright?...will she be?...Are you sure?...Alright we'll be right there." He ended the call and slid the phone back in his pocket as he started for the elevator. "We've got to go."


	4. Chapter 4

I know, that was a lousy place for a chapter break, but it had to go somewhere. Thank you to everyone who has been reading along and reviewing.

Again, I don't own anything, just having a little fun.

Chapter 4 Interrogations

Sookie had already been reaching for her purse and followed him to the elevator. "What happened?" The whole tone of the conversation set her on edge.

The doors opened and they stepped in, "Someone else wore that make-up to Fangtasia tonight."

"Is she okay?"

He ran a hand through his hair, 'Pam thinks so, one of our regulars is a nurse. Once Pam fought off the young ones she locked her and the nurse in my office." He smiled ironically, "Luckily there is plenty of blood substitute there."

"Was Pam able to resist it?" Why now and not earlier, Sookie wondered.

He nodded, "Barely, she said she could smell it but it wasn't as overpowering as you had been."

They had reached his car and he had it started before she had even shut her door and he was pulling onto the street as she grabbed for the seatbelt. Their drive was silent as Eric was intent on the road, though Sookie could see his jaw clenching and unclenching. She was concentrating on not shrieking as Eric swerved through traffic.

There were three police cars in the lot when they pulled in and back around to the rear entrance. He turned off the car and turned to her. "Sookie, I'm going to ask a favor." She nodded, "I need you to read the police for me." She looked indignant and began to protest but he took her hands and cut her off. "Sookie if they close us down we have very little hope of finding Thalia in time. I have to know what the police are thinking and if there is anyway to keep open."

She nodded, it made sense and she knew that Eric ran Fangtasia according to the rules for such an establishment. "How can I tell you what I find?"

He contemplated that for a minute. "Okay, in general I find the police fit into one of 4 categories when dealing with vampires: first are the ones just trying to do their job fairly, then you get the ones that hate us and will do whatever they can to make things difficult." She nodded, "then you get the ones that look down on fangbangers and think they are just looking for trouble and get what they deserve." Sookie's face hardened, she had encountered that attitude often in the past.

"What's the last group?" She thought that had pretty much covered the spectrum.

"The ones looking for a bribe." He said plainly, he was watching for her reaction, expecting outrage or indignation on her part. She just nodded sadly.

"It makes sense, most people assume vampires are rich. So how do I let you know which category they fall into?"

"Stand next to me, I'll try to address each one in turn, read that one. If he's just a good cop don't do anything. If they are anti-vamp take my hand, if they think she got what she deserved hold my arm, and if they are bribable put your arm around my waist and your hand in my back pocket."

"And if they fall into more than one category? Like anti-vamp but bribable?"

He grinned encouragingly, glad that she was willing to go along. "Use both hands. " He looked serious, "I might have to glamor them. You know that." He obviously expected her to protest.

She nodded in resignation, she might have protested if the situation was different, but too much was going on to have the police cause any delay.

He gave her hands a squeeze and smiled at her. Then he was out of the car, opening her door before she could blink. He took her hand and helped her from the car. Before releasing her hand he kissed the back of it. "Thank you." he said softly and she could see the gratitude in his eyes.

"You're welcome." she whispered back, almost too stunned to speak.

They entered through the staff entrance and passed the spot where she and Pam had struggled. She found she was not upset about the incident anymore. Pam had had little or no control over herself and had actually been more hurt than she had.

It was odd walking into the bar at night when there was no music playing, the lights were all on and she didn't have to put her shields up. The Fangtasia staff was there, Pam was talking to the police, the bartender was doing the normal behind the bar tasks that need to be done at closing and the waitresses were sitting at a table looking both nervous and bored at the same time.

Eric walked up behind Pam and addressed the police, "Hello officers, I'm Eric Northman, the proprietor, I came as soon as I heard." Though Eric and Pam co-owned the bar, Eric was the public face.

Pam turned, looking only at Eric, "I'm glad you're here. I was just explaining to these gentlemen how the victim had used human blood in her make-up and the three young vampires had lost control." Her eyes flicked to Sookie and she lowered them and wouldn't make contact.

"Is she alright? She is receiving the best medical care?" he directed the question at both Pam and the police. The oldest of the three officers spoke.

"It looks like she will probably be fine. Fortunately this woman kept her head." He nodded toward Pam who inclined her head in response. "However this is a very serious problem. As you know..." he searched for a delicate term. "...feeding is forbidden under your license." Listening in to his thoughts Sookie was relieved to find that this was just a good cop. He was somewhat intimidated by the vampires but was not ready to shut the place down. He thought about reports he had read from other jurisdictions and knew that Fangtasia had few complaints comparatively. Also in other cities when the legitimate vampire bars were closed down 'vampire raves' would pop up and those had a high mortality rate.

Sookie moved more into Eric's peripheral vision and laced her fingers together as a sign she wasn't going to do any of their other signs. He nodded at the officer. "Yes, and as you can see we do enforce that prohibition." He gestured around the bar, "We have posted many signs to that effect and all the vampires who come in here are warned." This officer was inclined to just issue a citation and process the vamps in custody. Sookie moved her attention to the next officer who was younger than she was. He was on edge, he had never dealt with vampires before and he was scared, but he was actually trying not to look at Pam because he found her very attractive and distracting. He wasn't going to cause any trouble.

As she shifted her gaze to the final cop she found he was looking at her in disgust. He wasn't a fan of vampires and thought they were little more that predatory animals, but he was repelled by anyone who would willingly associate with them. He definitely fell into the "she got what she deserved" category. She shifted closer to Eric.

Officer Intolerance interrupted the conversation Eric and his superior were having. "Who's the blonde?" he asked Eric as if she couldn't speak for herself. Sookie grabbed Eric's arm as if she wanted his protection.

Eric addressed the officer calmly though she could feel his muscles tensing under her fingers. "I'm sorry, this is Miss Stackhouse, a business associate, we were meeting elsewhere when the incident occurred." Sookie nodded to each of the officers, trying to have a pleasant smile on her face.

Intolerant was thinking that she was probably a prostitute who serviced vamps, and thought that he could show her what a real man was like. Damn vamps and their money, but if he played this right maybe he could get some of it.

Sookie released Eric's arm and moved her hand around behind him so she could put it in his pocket, then realized the cop was talking to her.

"Just what business are you in Miss Stackhouse?" he didn't even attempt to hide the loathing in his voice.

"Bar design, or at least I hope to be. I'm actually a waitress in Bon Temps, but I've been studying online and Mr .Northman is willing to let me make some changes here. It could be my big break." She tried to look giddy and grateful and not too bright. That usually shortened the questioning.

The other officers just nodded, they assumed sex was involved in the relationship but there was obviously a basis for attraction on both sides. The third cop didn't believe a word of it. Eric smiled down at her proudly for thinking so fast on her feet.

"What hospital was the victim brought to?" Eric asked.

"Why?" He was immediately suspicious.

"I would like to send her flowers to express our regret and also cover all medical expenses."

The bad cop thought Eric was looking to go there to finish her off, or have someone else do it so she wouldn't testify or glamor her so she wouldn't. The other officers thought he was hoping to keep her happy so he wouldn't get sued.

"I assume the assailants are under arrest in the vampire unit?" The officers nodded.

"They're being held pending bail, assuming she recovers, she can press assault charges, if she doesn't they could be up for manslaughter or murder." Eric nodded gravely.

"Even if she doesn't press charges, they will be banned from Fangtasia for one year."

"Excuse us." the oldest cop directed at Eric, who bowed his head and the police moved closer to the door and talked their heads close together.

Pam nodded at Eric and left the room with a brisk stride, she didn't even glance at Sookie.

Eric led Sookie over to a table in the corner of the bar. As soon as they sat down she started to tell Eric what she found out. "Mr. Wonderful wants to question us separately, but it's just a pretense to try to get a bribe out of you. But he hates vamps and fangbangers so we better get our story straight. He thinks I'm a ditz and a whore." Eric's clenched his jaw and his hands became fists. "No, it's okay, I really don't care what he thinks. Tell him I didn't even have sketches to show you, because he might want to see them, just vague ideas. You took me to dinner and watched me eat a salad. The one in charge just wants to give you a citation, but not close down the bar."

Eric nodded stiffly, Mr. Wonderful was approaching and Sookie whispered to Eric, "Play nice." before turning to the cop with a vapid smile. "Yes officer," she said as sweetly as she could, "do you have any more questions for us?"

"I just wanted to ask you and Mr. Northman some questions about your activities this evening."

"Oh well we..." she started to explain knowing he would cut her off.

"No, I would like to talk to each of you separately, Mr. Northman, is there somewhere where we won't be overheard?"

"Of course, we can use my office. Follow me."

Eric led the officer away and Sookie hoped that Eric would just pay him off. She realized as soon as she said it that she shouldn't have told Eric what the cop thought of her. But she was surprised at the intensity of his reaction.

Sookie sat back and tried to look bored to hide her worry about what Eric was doing. She looked around and wondered where Pam had gone. She hoped the incident had not irreparably damaged the odd relationship they had. She liked Pam, in spite of the vampire's loathing of humans. She was funny and honest, in an in-your-face-I-don't-care-what-you-think sort of way. She smiled at the other waitresses and they smiled weakly back. She could tell that they resented the attention Eric and Pam gave her and couldn't see what made her so special. Oh, it's going to be fun working here, she thought and hoped none of them would recognize Desirée.

Deciding to put her mind on the problem at hand she contemplated who would be making such dangerous make-up and why. Someone who really hated fangbangers? It seemed a lot of trouble to go through for a group whose dating preferences you disagreed with. Also how did they come up with it? The fairies had not revealed themselves to the world so their existence was not well known. Even less well known is the effect their blood has on vampires. Whoever was behind it was causing a lot of trouble for Eric. Maybe that was the purpose. Maybe someone wants similar attacks in the news to spread hatred against the vampires. Did the enmity between the vampires and the fairies run deep enough that they would give up their blood to cause problems for the vamps? She would have to ask Eric and Claudine just to get both sides of the story.

Eric and the police officer came out of the office, the officer trying not to look too pleased. Sookie got up and walked over to them smiling. "Did you want to talk to me now?" She asked brightly.

He shook his head, "No, Mr. Northman here has given me what I need." he had to resist the impulse to pat his pocket and Sookie could see in his mind that he had received more than he had hoped for. She checked but could find no sign of a glamor.

"Okay," she shrugged but looked up at Eric with the look of worship so many fangbangers gave him. "Mr. Northman's very good at giving people what they need." Eric arched an eyebrow at her and worked to hide a smile. The officer looked very uncomfortable and excused himself to join the other police. Eric winked at her and then went to talk to the officers. The lead officer looked apologetic as he handed Eric the citation. Eric handed them a business card in case they had additional questions and he took one of theirs. Then they left. Eric disappeared back down the hall to his office for a couple minutes, his face was unreadable when he came back out.

He told the waitresses they could go and nodded at the bartender. The women went to their lockers, got their purses, but came back to bow deeply and say "Goodnight Master." they shot her a look that said this was how she should treat him as well. She rolled her eyes and Eric actually looked uncomfortable and avoided her gaze. When they had gone he mumbled "Pam's idea."

"I know, she told me." Sookie nodded and her lips twitched in a smile. "Now I know how Desirée is to act." She bowed deeply as the waitresses had and in her huskiest voice said "Master."

She let out a little shriek when Eric grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her straight. "No, don't ever act like that." He abruptly let her go and looked away. "If I wanted a servile partner don't you think I could have my pick? I hate it. I like a woman with spirit who will tell me her mind. Why do you think I picked Pam to be my child?"

That brought up two subjects she had been postponing and decided now was the time for both. "Eric, I don't want to be a vampire, ever." She looked him in the eye so he would see that she was serious.

That seemed to perplex him. "Why not? Are you afraid?"

"No, I'm not afraid, it's just not something I want to be and you need to understand that I'm serious. Even if I'm dying."

"Are we that bad?"

"Some of you, but that's not it. I like what I am and I want to stay this way. Okay?"

He looked like he was going to argue and then nodded, "Okay for now, but I will try to convince you otherwise in a few years. Fair?"

"Fine." If they were still together in a few years, which she wasn't going to count on. After all, she had thought she would be with Bill for the rest of her life and that didn't happen.

"Where's Pam?" she asked softly, hoping he would follow the change in topic.

"She's in my office. She wanted to leave but I told her to stay. I thought you might want to talk to her."

"Can I go in?" She was actually a little nervous.

He nodded but added, "She wants me to be there, is that alright?"

"Why?" She was hoping to have a girl-to-girl talk with Pam.

"I don't think she completely trusts herself around you yet. Plus I think she expects you to be upset with her." He watched for her reaction. "Are you?"

She shook her head. "I'm not upset, maybe a little skittish, and this is definitely going to be awkward, but I'm not angry. I work in a bar and I see all the stupid things people do when they're drunk and I don't blame them for the stupid things, just for drinking more than they can handle and Pam didn't have any control of that. Someone basically spiked her drink."

Eric smiled at her, "You are the most amazing person Sookie Stackhouse."

She blushed and looked down.

He took her hand and gave it a quick kiss, "Come on, let's let Pam off the hook." It felt so natural walking along holding his hand that she found herself smiling.

Eric gave the door a single knock and then opened it without waiting for a response. Pam was standing by the guest chair, her head down.

"Hi Pam." Sookie said softly. It hurt her to see Pam looking so dispirited and ashamed.

Pam just gave a curt nod without looking up.

"Pam, it's okay, I'm not hurt." she stepped a little closer.

"Sookie, I am sorry, I haven't lost control like that in over a hundred years." Her voice was tight and her body rigid.

"I don't blame you, and I really am fine."

"No, you should blame me. I have better control than that and I lost it. I'm a danger to you and a liability to Eric. I have asked he release me from service here so I will no longer be a threat to you, but he refuses. Perhaps you can convince him." She still had not looked up.

"I don't want you to leave." Sookie walked up and put her hand under Pam's chin, raising her head. There were streaks of blood running down Pam's cheeks. "Pam, you were drugged. You didn't purposefully cover me with fairy dust because you couldn't resist me. You had no way of knowing what it was or what it would do. I'm no more afraid of you now then yesterday."

"Really? How could you not be after that?" She was angrily wiping the red tears away, impatient at herself for this further sign of weakness, but that was just spreading the blood across her face. Sookie pulled some tissues out of her purse and offered them to Pam.

"First of all, I assume from how bad you feel you are not going to go near the make-up again, I know I'm not. And second, if you feel that ...passionate for me without the make-up you could have attacked me long before now, if you were so inclined. It's not like that stuff made you any stronger." She kept Pam's eyes hoping the vampire would see her sincerity.

"We're really okay?"

"Yes, really." Sookie put her hand on Pam's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze, a human woman she would have hugged. Pam didn't seem like a hugger.

Sookie turned so she could address both Eric and Pam. "I'm going to take that make-up to the store tomorrow and show it to Claudine, see what she can make of it and see if she knows anything." A thought occurred to her, "Pam was that stuff expensive?"

"Oh very." Sookie nodded, when an older vampire said something was expensive they meant it.

"Do fairies hate vampires?"

"Many do," Eric acknowledged as he walked around his desk to sit. "They resent our bloodlust for them, although many see it as just a part of the supernatural life cycle. Why?"

"Well at first I thought someone was just clever and hit upon a good potential product but didn't foresee the consequences." Eric looked at her as if she were very naïve, she chose to ignore it. "But now I think someone is trying to make big trouble for vampires."

Looking intrigued, he nodded for her to go on.

"Okay, if they were selling it cheap, just anyone could buy it and there'd be a lot of incidents, but like you said before, a lot of people just figure that fangbangers are asking for it anyway. Since it's expensive this is going to happen to people whose families will make waves and have the power and money to cause trouble, big trouble. How many rich girls do you think need to be attacked before the authorities come down hard. Then if the clubs are closed down people will resort to the raves and there will be even more attacks and public opinion is going to go against you all."

"That makes sense," he agreed, "but I don't think the fairies are behind it. It risks exposure and they aren't planning to come out so they wouldn't want anything to force us to out them. When you talk to Claudine see if any of her folk have gone missing. I'll notify other bar owners to be on the lookout for this..."

Eric was cut off by a man coming to the doorway. He was in his early twenties, a fangbanger and sweaty, "Hello Pam." he said nervously.

"Ah, Nathan, we were waiting for you." Pam said as if he was her dream date. "Let's go back out to the bar." She gestured for Sookie to follow and Sookie stared blankly for a moment before realizing that this was the 'V' addict she was supposed to read. Crossing her fingers so Eric could see, she followed the mismatched pair out to the bar area. Pam had just sat Nathan at a table and Sookie came and sat across from him. She saw Eric watching from the hallway.

She held out her hand, "Hi Nathan, I'm Sookie. How are you tonight?" His hand was damp and she realized he was shaking a bit. He really needed a fix.

"I'm okay. Pam said I should come back to talk to you." He was obviously glamored by and infatuated with Pam. He looked up at her with undisguised adoration. She smiled back down at him, but when he turned back to look at Sookie the vampire's expression became one of distaste.

"Were you here earlier tonight?" Sookie had shifted her hand to his wrist and he didn't seem to mind.

"Yes, did you see Pam? She was so strong, able to take out those vampires who were attacking that girl." Sookie got a mental image of the confrontation, Pam was indeed strong, and barely in time judging by the girl's appearance.

"No, I missed it. Were you meeting someone here? Other than Pam I mean."

He shifted uncomfortably and wouldn't make eye contact. "Yeah, but he didn't show before the fight. It was too early and then the bar cleared out and he didn't come." His shaking was getting worse as he thought about it.

"Do you think he'll come tomorrow?"

"I hope so, I really need to see him." That was definitely the truth.

"What's his name? Maybe I know him and I could call him for you." She tried to look very sympathetic.

He shook his head, "I don't know his name." Sookie was getting an image, but the face wasn't really clear. Nathan was concentrating on the vial of vampire blood.

"Well what does he look like? If I see him tomorrow I can tell him you're looking."

That finally got her a visual of the dealer's face. He was rather nondescript, or at least that's how Nathan remembered him. He was dressed and done up like most of the fangbangers in very dark attire, pale make-up and overdark hair, but she thought she would be able to recognize him. Verbally Nathan was giving a rather sketchy description of him, she let him finish, nodding along like she was drinking it all in.

When he finished she smiled at him. "Great, I'll keep an eye out. Have you ever met him anywhere else?" Maybe that would help.

Nathan shook his head.

"Okay, well it was nice talking to you Nathan. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow." She patted the back of his hand and stood, nodding to Eric.

Nathan turned in his seat and looked up at Pam. "Can we go now?" He asked eagerly and Sookie got a flash of his fantasy with Pam before she could block it.

Pam looked at him and strengthened her influence. "The only person here when you came back was me, you didn't talk to anyone else. We had a wonderful night together, we had sex, the best you ever had."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry, I haven't updated this past week, life gets in the way. In fact, as a warning this will probably be my pattern. Updates on the weekends and silence during the week. I work a full-time job (60 hours this week) and have 3 kids so Monday through Friday are crazy for me.

But now it is the weekend so … update!

Thanks again for all the reviews, it always puts a smile on my face to see one in my mailbox.

I don't own anything, just borrowing for a bit.

Chapter 5 – Drawing Conclusions

Sookie hurriedly joined Eric in the hall and continued on to his office, not wanting to hear any details Pam was going to give of their night. Sookie sat in the guest chair, Eric moved to his own. "I know what the dealer looks like."

"Can you draw him?"

That took her completely off guard, "I can't draw, not even a straight line, let alone a mugshot."

"You should learn, it would be very useful. I'll pay for the classes." he offered.

"Really, I don't have any talent."

"Creating a work of art that has the right composition, tension and design, that takes talent." He bent to open a drawer in his desk. "But anyone can learn to draw, it's a skill like any other." He pulled out a drawing tablet, opened it to a page and handed it to her.

She gasped, it was a pencil drawing of her. She had her hair down and a "come hither" smile. "Did you do this?" she asked in awe.

He shrugged, "I learned to draw centuries ago." He smiled, "You can pick up a lot of skills over the years."

"Can I keep this?"

It was his turn to be surprised. "If you want to."

"What else have you done?" She started to turn the page but he was around the desk in a blink, his hand stopping hers.

"No." he said earnestly.

"Why not? Your work is beautiful, I want to see the rest."

"No, you don't." he looked uncomfortable. "Here let me frame this one for you." he tried to lift the tablet from her hands.

"Now I have to see them." she said accusingly, "Let me see the rest." It was a command, not a request.

"You won't like them, you'll be angry." he warned.

"I'm getting angry now."

He let out an exasperated sigh, "I warned you." He walked back to his chair and stared at a side wall, as if he didn't want to see her reaction.

That set her on edge and she was almost afraid to turn the page. With her curse she had seen many glimpses of what turned men on and remembrances of various movies and magazines they would think about at unexpected moments. Some of them made her skin crawl. Please don't let these drawings be like those, she thought to herself before turning the page.

"Oh my," she breathed and saw Eric cringe. The next page was of them together, in profile from the hips up. He was lower than she, maybe kneeling, his hands spread across her waist. They were obviously nude, but her arms were at an angle that covered her breasts as her hands cupped his cheeks and they were looking at each other in pure adoration. It was beautiful and she felt tears welling in her eyes. The next image was again both of them, this time from the front from her waist up, she was facing forward, he was behind her, one arm wrapped across her breasts concealing most of them from view and the other around her midriff. Her arms were reaching up behind his neck, playful lovers' expressions on their faces. Page after page was filled with similar scenes, all thankfully tasteful, but also tender and though she tried to find another word she could only think of loving. A tear escaped and fell on one of the drawings. "Oh no!" she gasped, afraid she had ruined it.

"I know, I'm sorry..." he began, looking at her. When he saw her tears he was instantly by her side kneeling down so he was level with her. "Don't please, I'll burn them." He went to grab the drawings but she pulled them to her chest.

"Don't you dare!" He looked at her in surprise. "Eric, they're lovely." She put her hand on his cheek.

"You aren't angry?"

"No, they're so...loving." She bent and kissed him softly on the lips. Smiling warmly at him as she pulled back. His hand moved to her cheek and his thumb wiped away a tear.

"I'm just glad you didn't see my other sketchbook." he said with relief.

Sookie felt her eyes widen in surprise as she pulled back in indignation. She opened her mouth to demand to see it when he smiled and winked at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Augh!" she grunted in exasperation as she realized he was teasing. She shoved at his shoulder and he let it push him back a ways. "Like I said, you are a handful!" she said with mock wrath.

"More than _a_ handful if I recall correctly." Pam drawled from the doorway. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"Just me staking Eric. Nathan all taken care of?" Sookie asked to change the subject, waving Pam to come in. Eric rose to his feet and leaned against the desk.

Pam sat on the arm of the couch, a look of disgust on her face. "Yes, we better track down this drainer soon, I am about done feeding that vermin's fantasies about me, Thalia or no Thalia." She looked uncomfortable and asked "You don't need me to help you get ready tomorrow, do you?"

"I can probably manage, but you are welcome." She replied sincerely. "Actually it might be a good idea to have you sniff the new make-up I buy before I cover myself with more fairy dust like some big vampire saltlick." Pam snorted, but actually laughed when she glanced at Eric. Sookie turned to look at him and caught the look of lust in his eyes and his fangs were out. When he realized she was looking he retracted his fangs. Her eyes were wide.

"That was an intriguing mental picture you painted." he said defensively, Pam chuckled and stood.

"Goodnight Sookie. I suggest you do as I advised to get his mind back on work." She winked and left.

Sookie blushed deeply, as Eric stared at her. "What was that about?"

"Earlier she said that you haven't been focusing on work lately and suggested that if I... if we..." she let it trail off since he obviously knew what she was trying not to say. "That it would solve the problem."

"I see." He looked annoyed and stared angrily at the spot where Pam had sat, as if she were still there.

"Don't be mad at Pam, she's had a rough night. Is it true? Have you been ignoring your work?" Glancing at the sketchbook in her hands she thought that just the drawings must have taken a lot of time he should probably have spent on his duties.

"I didn't think I had, although Pam has been very short with me lately. I'll talk with her tomorrow. It's early yet, what would you like to do this evening?"

Sookie looked at her watch. "It's after one a.m.!"

"Which means I have several hours until dawn. Surely you've kept night hours before?" she nodded in resignation "So what shall we do?"

"Is there even anything open at this time of night?" She knew nothing was in Bon Temps but Shreveport was much bigger.

"Probably no place you would want to go." Sookie knew there were real vampire bars, where only vampires and sometimes other supes went, she had been to one in Jackson and didn't care to repeat it here. They did not keep regular bar hours. "We could go back to the apartment and talk or watch a movie or go for a walk in the park."

"Is that even safe?" She asked and smiled at the expression on his face. He seemed to take her caution that the park might be dangerous at this time of night as an insult to his ability to protect her. "Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. But 20 plus years of defenseless, human female upbringing drives certain things into your head and one of them is places to avoid late at night." Gran had always said a woman should be able to go anywhere she wanted to, but she would be a fool to think that she could.

"So what shall it be? You are the guest in my town, so your choice." His expression became earnest, "And I guarantee my best behavior."

"The park sounds nice." She smiled up at him. He held out his hand and she took it, rising out of the chair. She held on to the sketchpad but he gestured for her to leave it.

"I'll have it framed for you since you like it so much." He gave her hand a little squeeze.

"Thank you." She thought there were others she liked as well, if not more, but given their current relationship and the nature of the pictures she was uncomfortable asking.

They rode with the top down, making conversation difficult, which was fine for her since she had quite a bit of food for thought from this evening. Eric obviously did think about her a lot, that much was obvious from the time the drawings must have taken. Not only that, but he had hurt his progeny for her, sure Pam had healed, but she was probably the only other person she thought he cared about. Most surprising is that he was ignoring his work, which she had thought was definitely number one to him. But their good-natured rapport was back, would adding a physical element to their relationship ruin that? She really liked being able to give him a hard time and sass at him, would that be lost?

She was pulled out of her musings by Eric pointing out a local landmark, when he realized she had never really explored Shreveport, but just came here on errands, he decided to drive her around and give her the grand tour. He showed her some businesses he part-owned and some of the more popular places in town. She would ask questions or make a comment, but kept drifting back to her own thoughts. He turned to drive along the river for a ways before he pulled into a parking lot, in a wooded area, the sign identified it as C. Bickham Dickson Park. She had expected a more tailored downtown park with manicured gardens and fountains, but this was a very natural setting.

He came around to open her door looking wary. As he offered her his hand he asked, "Is something wrong? You're awfully quiet."

Taking his hand she smiled up at him, "Sorry, I was just lost in thought." Looking around she added, "This is pretty." She continued to hold his hand, and pressed against his arm. "Which way?"

"Over here." he gestured to a path, and turned them toward it. They strolled slowly, passing trees, she could hear the water before she saw the river. He didn't press her to speak and she found the silence comfortable.

As she went through the events of the evening, she remembered the conversation that had been interrupted by Pam's call. "We never finished our earlier discussion." she prompted.

He looked thoughtful, "Which one?"

"What you were like as a boy. You, before you were turned."

A slight smile tugged at his lips, "Oh, well you pretty much got it right. I was very good at getting my own way. I'm tall, even for my people, and I was the chieftain's son, so that was pretty high status. People wanted to be in my favor so it was easy to influence them." His smile broadened. "I was a brat."

"Was?" she asked sarcastically and he laughed.

"Old habits die hard."

They were walking out onto a fishing pier and stopped at the end, leaning against the railing, looking out on the water. The moonlight and city lights dancing across the surface.

"Did you go raiding on dragonboats?" She had been reading up on vikings.

"Yes, several times. It was hard work and very dangerous. But if you survived the spoils were good." He was looking out on the water. "Do you sail?" He asked suddenly, turning to her.

"I've ridden on a sailboat, but I have no idea how to control one if that's what you mean." She turned to him, leaning on the railing with one arm.

"I could teach you." he offered.

"Do you have a boat?" While she had pictured Eric the viking sailing, she never thought of modern Eric doing so.

He nodded, "I've been thinking about sailing down to the Caribbean, but I need a human along I trust, in case something happens during the day."

"You and me sailing the Caribbean?" She asked in surprise.

"Why not, have you been?"

"No, I've never left the country. Heck, I've only left the state twice and both times it was on vampire business." She turned back to the water. "Wouldn't teaching me to sail interfere with your work more?" She asked softly.

He half-shrugged and looked a little guilty, "Probably, but I have been thinking about hiring a manager for the bar."

"What about sherriffing?"

"That's always feast or famine. Most of the problems that we had after the Great Revelation have sorted themselves out. Now it is just occasional problems like drainers and accidents."

"Maybe I should learn when I can see and ..." she smacked her arm. "not be eaten alive by mosquitos."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think of that, one of the biggest advantages of being a vampire is the fact that mosquitos no longer feed off you. Here." He put his arm across her shoulders. "This should keep them away." Sure enough that close to him was a mosquito free zone.

"That's one of the biggest advantages?" she asked skeptically.

"You obviously have never been to Sweden, and remember when I was alive there was no insect repellant." He turned them back toward the the path to the car. "Let's get you back inside, I don't want to share."

"Share?"

"Your blood with the mosquitos." He said smugly.

"Who said you are getting any of my blood?"

"Maybe not tonight, but I am determined to win you over, and when I do I won't share a drop."

"Do I get to keep any?" she asked with a smile.

"I might leave you a pint or two." he capitulated with a grin. He pulled her closer for just a second in a playful hug.

"I'll take what I can get." she glanced up at him. She was amazed how much she was enjoying just being with Eric. She was having fun and felt relaxed around him, at least when he was on his best behavior. While she enjoyed the early days of her relationship with Bill he was always serious and often patronizing. Eric, though he was much older and experienced, did not treat her like a foolish child.

She slipped the arm nearest to him around his waist and brought her other hand up to entwine with the hand of the arm resting on her shoulders. He gave her hand a little squeeze then looked down at her.

"I've really enjoyed tonight." She smiled up at him.

"Really?" he looked somewhat surprised.

"Yes." She confirmed nodding, her head while looking down as they walked over a patch of uneven ground.

"I'll have to tell Pam. She'll be pleasantly surprised." a note of mischief had slipped into his voice.

Sookie raised her head, a puzzled look on her face and then she realized, Pam's attack was tonight. It seemed more distant. "Okay, maybe not all of it." she conceded. "You didn't put her up to that, just so you could be my hero did you?" she accused mockingly.

"Damn, you found me out. Yes, Pam willingly volunteered to get her wrist broken and be knocked out, just for my benefit. She is always so selfless." he taunted back.

Sookie shrugged, "I figured she did it just so she could mess with my breasts again."

"Again?" Eric sounded taken aback.

"Well, she touched them getting me into that dress and she once picked a piece of Longshadow out from between them." she explained plainly.

"So Pam has gotten to touch you where I have not?" he sounded petulant, like the brat he professed to have been.

"Honey, you've touched them plenty, you just found it utterly forgettable." she pouted back.

"Proof that I was under the foulest, darkest magic." he smiled down at her and she laughed.

They had reached the car and he opened her door for her. He put the top up, which she was thankful for since she was a little cold. She glanced at her watch and was very surprised at the time. "It's getting close to dawn isn't it?"

He nodded, "Probably another half hour or so."

"Will you be able to get home in time?" she had no idea where he lived.

"I think so, if not I have a place to sleep at the bar."

He took a more direct route back to the apartment and they got there more quickly than she expected. He parked and was opening her door before she had her seatbelt undone. She took his offered hand and thanked him as she stood. They did not release hands until he opened the door to the building. They waited in silence for the elevator, when it arrived he entered it with her. After she turned the key she smiled at him, "This was really nice tonight, thank you for talking me into the park."

"I miss spending time with you, not that we did a lot of that before, and I can't remember the time I spent at your house. But since then something has seemed to be missing, but it was back tonight." He turned to face her. "Will a goodnight kiss spoil my best behavior status?"

"I think your standing will remain intact." She smiled as she stepped closer.

His hands came up and cupped her cheeks as he lowered his mouth to hers. Again the kiss was tender and gentle, full of longing but undemanding. As the elevator came to a stop he ended it, but she wrapped her arms around his waist. He searched her face.

"Eric, please stay." she breathed, knowing she was inviting him for more than a kiss.

His eyes blazed with passion, but he took her hands from his waist and brought them up kissing each one. "Not now, it's too close to dawn and I want you to be sure. Sleep on it, so you will have no regrets." He kissed her hands again then lightly brushed her lips with his before releasing her and stepping back. "We'll talk tonight." The elevator doors closed.

She stood there a moment blinking at the doors in surprise. She had not expected that, nor did she expect her own reaction, there was no sense of relief that he had just saved her from making a huge mistake. Only disappointment. As she turned from the doors Sookie felt that that removed all doubt. Even yesterday she didn't think that Eric would have let that opportunity pass. Any weakening in her defenses and he would have pressed the advantage. The Eric she had seen tonight had much of "her Eric" in him without being lost. He had listened to her and taken her advice. He protected her, but talked to her like an equal.

She yawned and realized she had been up for over 20 hours. She turned off a few lights and headed back to the master bedroom. She undressed and folded her clothes neatly over a chair, she was in and out of the bathroom quickly and set her travel alarm for noon. It wouldn't be a long sleep but she had gotten by on less. She had a feeling that today, and especially tonight was going to be eventful.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed. I'd love to write everyone back, but since I am not quite done with the last couple of chapters, I thought all of you would appreciate it more if I kept writing. But don't worry I have a lot of chapters done between here and there.

Again, I don't own anything. Enjoy.

Chapter 6 Fairy Magic

Claudine was looking away, talking to a coworker as Sookie approached the customer service desk. Disguising her voice slightly she put the make-up on the counter and said, "Excuse me, a friend of mine bought this make-up for me here and I had a bad reaction."

Signaling the other woman that they would talk later, Claudine started speaking as she turned, "I'm so sorry, what type of reaction did you... Sookie!" Her face broke out into an even brighter smile than she usually wore. She leaned over the counter and hugged her. "What's up?"

"A lot, one of the Fangtasia vamps is missing and I'm helping Eric to try to find her and get her back from the drainers. I'm posing as a waitress there and Pam bought this make-up as part of my disguise." She held up one of the jars.

Claudine took the jar, and rolled her eyes at the label. "What kind of a reaction did you have?'

"I almost got raped and drained by a vampire." she said matter-of-factly. Sookie was surprised Claudine didn't have whiplash she looked up so fast.

"Eric?" her voice was fierce.

Sookie shook her head, "Pam, Eric saved me."

"And you think it was because of this?" She looked skeptical, Sookie knew Claudine was willing to think the worst of the vampires.

"Smell it." She suggested.

Slowly Claudine opened the jar and sniffed warily. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Sookie in horrified disbelief, "No."

"So Eric was right, it does have fairy blood in it?" Sookie confirmed quietly.

"Yes it does." Claudine was moving quickly from shock to anger and Sookie could feel tension building in the air. "This store is selling it?"

Sookie just nodded.

"Were you hurt in the attack?" Claudine was looking her up and down for any sign of injury.

"No, Eric got there in time. He had to break Pam's wrist and knock her out though. But later another girl was wearing this stuff and she was attacked by 3 vamps on the dance floor. Pam took them out and got the girl medical attention."

"Pam didn't attack her too?"

"No she was able to resist it. She said it was stronger on me for some reason." she tried not to change the tone in her voice when she asked, "Do you know why that would be?"

Claudine made a show of studying the label and shrugged, "There could be several reasons. You might have been wearing more. It might only cause a strong reaction in a vampire once. I couldn't say."

"Claudine," Sookie began in an urgent whisper. Her fairy godmother looked up. "The fairies aren't behind this are they? Trying to cause trouble for the vamps."

Claudine shook her head quickly, "I can't imagine it. We have no plans to go public and this is a huge risk of exposure."

"Do you know if any fairies have gone missing?"

"No, but I'll ask around. First things first, we have to get this off the shelves." She caught her coworker's attention, "Watch the counter for me, I have to run to cosmetics." The other woman looked disgruntled until Claudine flashed her smile, then she moved to the counter with a contented look on her face.

Claudine came out from behind the counter and indicated the direction they should go. Sookie had to walk fast to keep up with her long strides. "Do you have enough clout to get this stuff pulled?" she asked somewhat breathlessly.

"Not without a good reason. Come in here." She pulled Sookie into an employees' only area, "Hold still, I'm going to put a glamour on you."

"Can you? Vampires can't."

"No, not glamor you, put a glamour on you. It's a kind of illusion." Claudine concentrated and passed her hands over Sookie's face, not touching, but very close. Sookie felt a faint tingle.

When Claudine lowered her hands Sookie asked, "Did it work?"

"Do you have a mirror?" The fairy asked, looking very satisfied.

Sookie dug one out of her purse and looked at herself. She almost dropped the mirror in shock. Her face was puffy with hives and sores scattered about it. Her eyes looked almost swollen shut and when she tried to force them open they hardly moved at all. She brought her hand up to feel her face, but Claudine stopped her.

"Don't, it will spoil the illusion if your hand goes through to your real face. Now we'll go to cosmetics, just look miserable and angry."

Sookie nodded and followed her fairy godmother through the store. People who saw her looked horrified and tried to turn away quickly to hide their reaction. Sookie kept having to pull her hand away from her face, which she thought added to the effect, kind of like when you stop yourself from scratching poison ivy.

They got to the counter and found the display for "Vamp Bait". It looked like some of it had been sold, but not too much unless it had been restocked. Maybe they had priced themselves too high. Claudine spotted the sales clerk, "Sylvia" she called softly. When the clerk looked in their direction Sookie could see the revulsion that Sylvia tried to quickly mask.

"Hello Claudine, Miss." She nodded at Sookie and looked quickly away. She was a strong broadcaster and Sookie could here her chastising herself 'don't stare, don't stare, don't stare.'

"Sylvia, you've got to pull this stuff now." Claudine said in an urgent whisper. "This young lady used it and you can see what's happened." Sylvia's eyes flicked to Sookie's face and away again.

"This make-up did that?" She asked realizing too late how repulsed she sounded and blushed.

Sookie nodded, "That's what the ER doctor said, my dermatologist thinks so too." She barely moved her lips when she talked, like someone whose face was that swollen would.

"I'm so sorry, miss. I'll take down the display right away." She gestured to Claudine that she wanted to speak to her out of Sookie's earshot. They walked to the farside of the counter, but Sookie listened in on Sylvia's thoughts. The clerk wanted to make sure she didn't get in trouble for pulling an exclusive product. When Claudine insinuated that Sookie could sue, and at the price of that make-up any one else affected could afford an attorney, Sylvia agreed but wanted Claudine to be the one to tell the store manager. Claudine asked if Sylvia could try to track any purchases by credit card or check and Sylvia reluctantly agreed.

Satisfied, Claudine came back around and said solicitously to Sookie, "Please follow me miss."

Sookie gave a stiff nod and followed. Claudine then took her to the store manager and repeated the performance. The manager was not as good at hiding his revulsion, but much more eager to avoid a lawsuit and agreed to pull the product and contact the manufacturer. Sookie asked for the contact information, when the man seemed reluctant she implied her lawyer would contact him for it, he gave it up stressing how cooperative he was willing to be.

Sookie thanked him, trying to look somewhat appeased and Claudine offered to accompany her to her car with a nod to her manager.

Once out of the building, Claudine passed her hands over Sookie's face again and Sookie smiled in relief. "Sook, you were great." the fairy beamed at her.

"Thanks, for everything, but now I have to do my shopping elsewhere. I can't really go back in."

"What did you need?"

"Just some stuff for the apartment." At Claudine's puzzled look she elaborated. "Eric has an apartment in town for visiting vamps, he's letting me use it but it has no dishes or cooking stuff. He gave me money to make it human-friendly. Plus I need some fang-banger make-up that won't make me smell like a fairycicle. Any suggestions?"

"Stop hanging around with vampires?" she suggested hopefully.

Sookie scowled at her and Claudine suggested a couple of nearby places.

Opening the car door Sookie asked, "Will you let me know if anyone is missing and if you were able to contact the people who bought that make-up?"

Claudine nodded, her face set in grim determination. "Yes, we'll get to the bottom of this."

"I think someone wants to make trouble for the vamps." Sookie quickly outlined her theory. Claudine could find no fault with it, but also agreed the pool of candidates was small.

After exchanging another hug, Sookie got in her car and followed Claudine's directions to the other store. She was able to get just about everything she needed in a clearance "College Student Start-up Set" she rounded it out with a nice set of dishes and flatware. Heading over to cosmetics she bought 3 different brands of goth make-up. She decided she would get Eric to smell them for her. Thinking of Eric made her heart race. She hadn't changed her mind and she was anxious to see him. With her mind on tonight she headed for lingerie. This she paid for out of her own money, not what Eric had given her. She found a nightgown, sexy but not slutty, in a deep blue-grey that reminded her of the darker specks in his eyes. The top, though mostly lace, was tight-fitting and had some built in support, the skirt consisted of 4 separate panels so that when she walked, her legs would come in and out of view. She was looking forward to wearing it for Eric, although thinking back to their previous time together there was rarely an opportunity for lingerie.

She made a quick run to the grocery store and picked up a few things for meals. She had woken up very hungry in the morning and had eaten both the yogurt and half of one of the salads. But since she had just picked at the salad she had eaten last night and had stayed up til dawn it was not surprising.

Glancing at the time she realized it was getting close to dusk and wouldn't have time to make anything for tonight so she bought a hamburger and fries at the fast-food place across the street.

Getting her purchases into the apartment was an issue, since she had the box of kitchen stuff and another of plates, plus a bag of groceries and her cosmetics and nightgown. Stacking the boxes on the hood of her car, she put her arms through the loops of the bags then picked up the boxes. She managed to get into the building by balancing the boxes on her knee as she pulled open the door. Crouching slightly she was able to hit the up button to call the elevator, then pressed the boxes between the wall and her body to wait. Once she got into the elevator she put the boxes on the floor, glad that the lift would open directly into the apartment so she could just nudge them in with her foot. She set her grocery and fast food bag down in the kitchen then took her negligee to the bedroom, hanging it on the inside of the bathroom door so it wouldn't wrinkle.

Coming back to the main room, she placed her make-up on the bar, opening all the containers and sniffing them. They just all smelled like make-up to her, but then so did the VampBait. Opening her dinner she nibbled on a few fries, while putting her groceries away. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was probably another half hour or so to sundown. Taking a bite of her burger she decided she would call and leave Eric a message, finish her dinner and then shower.

Expecting to get his voicemail she was surprised when he answered. "You had pleasant dreams this morning, I hope they were about me." Sookie blushed even though he couldn't see her, she had had very pleasant dreams, reliving memories and dreaming up some future ones.

"Hello Eric. Thank you for asking, I had a very nice and productive day." She said sarcastically, trying to change the subject. "How are you?"

"Regretful."

She had to ask, though she thought she knew the answer. "About what?"

"Regretful that the sun has not yet set so I can fly to your side. Regretful that I did not wake up next to you. Regretful that I was a fool not to stay last night. But most of all, regretful that you have probably changed your mind."

"I haven't, in fact letting me sleep on it just made me more sure. Tonight, after the bar closes..."

"_After_ the bar closes?" he sounded very frustrated.

"What are the chances of us getting to the bar tonight if we don't wait?" Unless he was very different from before they both knew the answer was slim to none.

"Well, when you put it that way..." he said in his most seductive voice and she chuckled.

"I do have a favor though."

"Anything my lover." his voice sent goosebumps down her spine.

"Once the sun is down, can you come by and smell the make-up I bought? I don't want a repeat of last night?"

"Of course, I'll be over within moments of sunset."

"Thanks, I have them spread out on the bar. I'll just finish my dinner and start getting ready. See you in a bit."

"Very soon." he promised and ended the call.

She finished the burger and ate a few more fries while moving the boxes to the kitchen. Putting the rest back into the bag she realized that she hadn't bought a trash can and started a new mental list of more things to pick up.

Once in the bedroom she went into the closet to see what other "fun" outfits Pam had picked up for her. She was relieved to see that none of them were more revealing than the one she had worn yesterday, not really any less, but not more. Picking one at random, she picked out a set of underthings to go with it and laid them out on the bed.

Starting up a bank of showerheads, she tried to banish all thoughts of Eric and showers from her mind. Eric was ready enough without picking up any vibes from her. So she tried to concentrate on what she knew so far: someone was draining vamps and someone was draining fairies. The same someone? The vamp drainer, or his helper, was selling it vial by vial in a small-time operation, although Sookie couldn't really see how to make it big time. The fairy drainers though had an extensive operation. Finding a way to mask it in makeup, package and market it took money. Hopefully, it was true that Claudine's store had an exclusive contract, so maybe the operation wasn't too big. How many fairies could go missing without an alarm being raised? How closely knit were the fairies so that even a couple of missing fairies could go unnoticed? The more she thought about it the more she was sure that there were two entirely unconnected things going on.

Hoping that she had managed to scrub away all traces of her earlier contact with Claudine she finished in the shower. Drying off she moved to the bedroom to dress. She put on the skimpy underthings and then the shoes, knowing that if this dress were as tight as last night's she wouldn't be able to bend to fasten the ankle straps once she got it on.

The dress presented a problem. The top part was form-fitting and had stays built into the leather like a corset. It zippered up the back but it was so tight and unyielding that she couldn't get the zipper, nor would she have been able to put it on backwards and turn it around once zipped. The skirt was a handkerchief design with multiple layers of black lace, none of which were opaque, but there were just enough of them that Sookie felt decent, if barely. Holding the front of the dress up, she ventured into the livingroom, hoping that Eric was there.

He was, pacing like a tiger in a cage. He stopped when he saw her and seem to be fighting the urge to rush to her. She smiled coyly at him, as if her commitment to him had suddenly made her shy.

She started to walk toward him, "Eric, I need you..." she began, but her voice came out much huskier than she intended and paused to clear her throat.

Before she could continue he was right there, His hands on her upper arms. "And I, you." he whispered lowering his mouth to hers. His kiss was hungry and urgent and she wanted to lose herself in it, but she pulled back and smiled crookedly at him.

"...To zip me up."

He blinked at her, trying to make sense of her statement when his mind was obviously moving in a different direction. As it sank in, he looked embarrassed. Recovering quickly he grinned wickedly and moved his hands around her and slipped them beneath the dress. His cool fingers made her gasp.

"I like it like this." he murmured into her ear as goosebumps spread across her skin. He was kissing his way down her neck.

"I'm sure you're just checking if any vampires will pick up Claudine's smell on me right?" she asked breathlessly, trying to keep her mind on the task ahead, but reluctant for him to stop.

"Mm-hmm." he agreed, pulling back far enough to grin at her, his fangs were down. "I want to be very thorough." He said in her other ear and repeated the trail of kisses down that side of her neck. His path down her neck continued to the top of her breasts and she managed to will herself to pull back.

"Claudine and I aren't that close." she chided.

"Pity," he smiled down at her, "I was prepared to do a complete inspection."

"I bet you were." She grinned back, rolling her eyes, then turned, moving her hair to the side. "Up, please."

She waited a moment, then tapped her foot dramatically. "Tonight." she ordered impatiently.

He leaned in behind her, and whispered in her ear, "Is that a promise?" He began slowly pulling up the zipper but let his fingers lead a trail up her spine as he did so. She shivered at his touch and turned to him.

"Oh, yes." she assured him and the passion in her eyes matched his. Then she took a deep breath and stepped back. "But I am going to be late for work and I don't want the boss to be mad, he might fire me." She teased. She looked over at the bar, "Are they safe?"

He nodded, "Plain old make-up. Did you find out anything from Claudine?" he walked toward the bar, putting a less distracting distance between them.

"She confirmed it was fairy blood. She's pretty sure her people aren't behind it, but didn't know offhand if anyone is missing. She's going to get her people looking into it. The good news is that it was exclusive to her store and she managed to get it pulled."

"How did she do that?"

Sookie grinned, "Magic."

Eric raised an eyebrow, "She bewitched them into taking it off the shelves? I didn't think she had that kind of power."

"No, she put a glamour on me so my face was all swollen and gross. It was pretty cool, people were looking at me like I was a leper."

Eric nodded, knowingly, "A simple illusion, very clever and easy for her kind."

"The store is going to try to contact everyone who bought it with a check or credit card. I also got the manufacturer's contact info so I'm going to look into it more tomorrow." She picked up some of the cosmetics. "I guess I should get started at covering up this tan. You go ahead and I'll see you at the bar."

"I can stay and drive you there." he offered.

"Do you drive all new waitresses in on their first night of work?" She asked with a hand on her hip.

"No," he confessed, "fine, I'll go." He pulled her to him suddenly and kissed her hungrily. When he raised his head she was breathless and off balance. "But remember who is putting my duties ahead of us." He said with a wry smile and was gone, leaving her leaning on the bar for support.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you everyone who has been reading and reviewing. It is so encouraging.

Again, I don't own anything.

Chapter 7 Users

She pulled into the parking lot about 45 minutes later, it had taken her a while to replicate what Pam had done the night before, and headed to the employee entrance. It turned out to be locked, there was no answer when she knocked. She called Eric on her cellphone.

"Yes, my lover?" he answered in his most seductive tone.

"I'm at the backdoor, but it's locked, should I go around to the front or wait here?"

"I'll come let you in, Pam is monitoring the front door so no one with VampBait on can get in."

"Okay, bye." She slipped the phone back into her purse and adjusted the dress.

The door opened and Eric looked at her hungrily.

She curtsied deeply and huskily whispered, "Desirée reporting for duty, Master." But spoiled the effect by snorting at the end.

"I told you not to do that." he sounded annoyed.

"If I'm pretending to be a waitress here I have to act the part." She moved past him into the locker area. "Do I get a key?"

"I don't know, Pam usually handles all the human employee details."

She stowed her purse in the same locker as yesterday. "So, can you tell me what tables I'm covering?" The blank look on his face annoyed her, shouldn't he know these things?

"No, but I'll get Leanna, she knows you are starting tonight and can probably tell you what you need to know." He went to the doorway leading to the bar area and made a quick "come here" gesture, like he had done the first night she and Bill had come here.

"Is my disguise okay? Do you think she'll recognize me?" Sookie checked herself quickly in the mirror.

"No, I doubt she will."

"Yes Master?" Leanna was bowing in the doorway.

"Leanna, this is Desirée, she is starting tonight. I believe Pam has discussed this with you. Tell her what she needs to know."

"Yes Master." Leanna agreed breathlessly, bowing again. She cast a sidelong glance at Sookie, who quickly bowed at Eric.

"Good luck, Desirée." He said as he was turning away.

"Thank you Master." She managed to sound appropriately worshipful and kept all sarcasm from her voice with an effort.

As soon as Eric was seated on his throne again, Leanna turned to Sookie. "You've always got to bow and call him 'Master', Pam says he gets really mad if you don't." she said seriously.

"Okay, I'll remember." Sookie nodded. She glanced at Eric trying to have the infatuated, worshipful look she has seen on most of the waitresses and customers. "He's so gorgeous. Does he ever date the waitresses?" she asked hopefully.

Leanna looked deflated. "Date? No. When I started here two years ago, he would sometimes hook-up with us. But he hasn't since before he disappeared for awhile and Ginger was killed." Sookie vividly remembered finding Ginger's body and tried to hide her reaction with a look of disappointment.

"That's too bad, what about the other vamps?"

"Sometimes." Leanna proudly showed Sookie her bite marks.

"Wow, did it hurt?" trying to sound suitably awed.

"Hm-mm, but in a _good_ way." She winked at Sookie, "But we better get to work. Have you ever worked in a bar before?"

"Yeah, but it was a little, small town bar. It was never this crowded." she could honestly look overwhelmed at the throng.

"It does get crazy." Leanna glanced at the crowd. "Okay, no tabs, everyone pays as you deliver. Vamps get free True Blood, any of the topshelf blood they pay for. The bartender will ring up the drinks as you order them so you won't need to know the prices right off. Most people won't ask, if they need to they're in the wrong bar."

"Do I have specific tables?" She was looking around to see if there was an order to it.

"Nope, if someone looks like they need something head on over. People move around too much to track."

"Any rules to enforce?"

"No drugs, no biting, no fighting, no actual sex, clothes stay on; other than that it's pretty much a free for all." she shrugged. "You think you're ready?"

Sookie half-shrugged, half-nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be." Leanna smiled sympathetically and handed her a tray and an order pad.

"The beer list is on the back." She started to renter the bar area and added, "No refunds on the blood if a human orders it."

"Ew!" Sookie said and Leanna laughed.

Taking a deep breath and reinforcing her shields Sookie stepped into the throng. The real noise was almost deafening and she was thankful she was able to block out the mind noise.

With Leanna being off the floor for so long there were several groups that needed attention and she quickly fell into the groove. She had to work to remember to try to keep it somber, but friendly. A few of the drinks names were unfamiliar, mostly vampire-themed, some had a splash of True Blood for show or the daring of it. The drinks were more than at Merlotte's, add to that the much larger crowd and Eric was right, she was making much more in tips.

She kept visually scanning the crowd for Nathan or his dealer, but had not seen either in the first two hours. She had, however seen a couple of other people experiencing signs of withdrawal and from a quick peek into the mind of one of them saw that he was waiting for the same supplier. Sookie tried to keep them in sight while tending to the crowd.

Dropping off an order at the bar, Indira, who was bartending, stopped her and handed her a goblet of blood. "You are Desirée?" Sookie nodded. "You are to bring this to Eric."

"Yes ma'am." Sookie said with a slight inclination of her head. She would have to see how the other waitresses treated the rest of the vampire staff. Positioning the goblet in the center of her tray, she made her way through the throng to Eric's dias. Raising the tray as though it were an offering to the gods and bowing deeply she whispered huskily, "Your drink Master." she managed not to smile, though her lips twitched.

"Thank you Desirée. How is your first night going?" he asked conversationally, trying to sound both bored and politely interested.

"Very well Master. How is your evening?"

"I am enjoying planning for the rest of the evening." He said and the seduction in his voice lit a fire within her.

"The plans may have to wait longer than we thought." At his scowl she gestured with her eyes in the direction of the addicts, who had conveniently clustered together. "I have some customers who are very needy. I should tend to them unless there is something else"

He scanned the crowd, like a bored king surveying his domain, but lingered a fraction of a second longer on the group. "No, that is all for now Desirée."

"Thank you Master." She bowed deeply to him again and backed off the platform. As he raised the goblet to his lips she said softly. "Save room for later." She could hear his fangs hit the glass and smirked. As she walked away she could feel his eyes following her.

As she got to the bar to pick up her other orders Leanna made her way over to her. "What was that all about?" There was jealousy in her tone.

Sookie had been afraid that that was more interaction than Eric usually had with his human staff. "He asked me how my first night was going. Evidently someone told him he had to work on his people skills." She shrugged.

Leanna snorted, "Probably the hick." she said dismissively.

"The hick?" Sookie repeated and allowed herself a peak into her temporary coworker's mind. What she saw was Leanna's mental picture of Sookie as a not-too-intelligent Ellie-Mae caricature. It was a good thing Sookie had years' of practice to not reacting to what she picked up.

"Yeah, some country girl all the vamps treat special, though I have no idea why. She doesn't bow or show proper respect to them and she even sasses Eric." She said the last as though it were a mortal sin.

"Does she come around a lot?"

"No, only when there's trouble it seems. Like last night, she showed up after the attack. I don't know if she brings it or not, but Eric is always moody after she's gone. I don't know why he puts up with her."

"Couldn't say." Sookie responded, she had arranged her orders on her tray and was happy to have a good excuse to end the conversation.

A little later she met Lily, the other waitress working that night. She seemed nice, if anorexic and Sookie kept thinking she needed to eat something.

She did her best to hang close to the little cluster of addicts. Letting her shields down only a little she discovered one was a strong broadcaster. So strong that she could keep a mental 'eye' on his thoughts without dropping her shields to a distracting level and could hear him all the way to the bar.

The evening wore on. In a way it went quickly because she was always busy but keeping tuned into one mind and balancing her shields proved tiring. Nathan came in about two hours before closing and he looked bad, he was sweating and shaking and pale. He mumbled an order for a beer and talked quietly to the others in the same condition.

She was beginning to feel it was hopeless, that he wasn't coming and she realized much of that was coming from her broadcaster. Then suddenly she got such a wave of relief and anticipation that she almost stumbled. Angling so she could look at the group naturally, she saw the dealer approach them. He was certainly trying very hard to look like a nondescript fangbanger but his customers knew him and were visibly excited to see him, which made him annoyed. He was trying to calm them down as Sookie worked her way over to them, taking drink orders as she went so she would have an excuse to linger in that area for awhile. Finally, she reached the group and addressed the newcomer.

"Welcome to Fangtasia, I'm Desirée, what can I get you?" She asked from his side.

"A bottle of Bud Light." He didn't look up but Sookie could see that he was gauging the desperation of the group with obvious satisfaction.

She turned to the rest of the group. "Any of you gentlemen like a refill?" They all waved her off, what they really wanted, she didn't have.

"Okay, I'll be right back with your beer." And she hurried off, she tried to catch Eric's eye, but he was typing into his phone.

Bringing her orders to the bar, she told Indira. "Eric would like another."

Indira raised an eyebrow, "He never has two."

Sookie shrugged, "Just doing the Master's bidding."

Indira prepared the goblet while Sookie tried hard not to look nervous or impatient and keep the exaggerated smile off her face. As she carried it to him she glanced at the group and saw them huddled together but none of them had left yet.

Eric looked at her questioningly as she approached. She raised the tray and bowed. "Your drink Master."

"I thought I was supposed to save room." he murmured as he took the glass.

"The customer you were expecting is here, in the anarchy t-shirt." she whispered not looking in that direction. "I'll try to find out where he's holding her. If he has accomplices they may kill her if he doesn't come back by a set time."

"Good thinking. I'll have Pam keep an eye out and follow him when he leaves."

"Master." She bowed deeply again and left the dias. She gathered her orders from the bar quickly.

She delivered the drinks in a circular pattern so she could stay at the periphery of the group for as long as possible. Her broadcaster was not happy with the negotiations but would pay whatever. She headed over to them, the dealer's beer the last thing on her tray. As expected he hushed the group as she approached. He took the beer without a thank you and passed her some money, not much of a tipper. The crowd was thinning as it was late and she was able to stay near the group by cleaning a vacated table. Lowering her shields a little more she was able to latch onto is mind, she immediately wanted to pull back, his thoughts were dark and evil, he was a user, not of 'V' but of people. He thought of everyone else as tools to be used for his own gain.

Forcing herself to stay connected she tried to pick up any thoughts of where he was keeping Thalia. She wasn't able to go very far from him and still read him clearly. So she took a long time cleaning up the table. Her broadcaster was asking if this was from the same vamp as last time because it had quite a kick.

The dealer smiled, an awful, lecherous smirk. "Oh yeah, we have a blood and sex arrangement going on." The others cheered him, the way guys do when they think one of them had gotten lucky. Sookie was almost ill. When he said that she had gotten a clear mental image of the 'arrangement'. He had Thalia bound in silver chains, he was draining her and raping her. From the collage of images he had done it several times. She grabbed a chair for support and slammed her shields back in place. In her peripheral vision she saw Eric look sharply at her, he had picked up on the distress she was feeling for Thalia, but she shook her head slightly and he remained on his throne.

She gathered up her tray and went to the bar catching Leanna's eye as she went. Concern showed on Leanna's face as she met her. Sookie realized she was probably pale and sweaty. "Honey, are you alright? You look ready to faint."

"I was too nervous to eat before coming on shift and my blood sugar is low. Can I take a break? I have a granola bar in my car, that usually helps."

"Sure honey, I should have had you take a break hours ago, it's almost closing now. Take as long as you need."

"Thanks, you've been great." She headed out the front door, lowering her shields again to pick up on her broadcaster to see if she could tell how much longer the dealer would be there. It seemed they were close to done.

Just as she was raising her shields again she caught another determined line of thought from someone, she couldn't tell who. "There was an attack last night, there should have been another tonight. Someone here has to be wearing the stuff." Then it was lost in the cacophony of thoughts. Well one drainer at a time, she decided and headed out the door.

Pam met her outside, one of the human bouncers was at the rope. "Eric texted me," she began, "What's wrong?" She was looking at Sookie with more concern than she had ever seen on Pam's face.

"Pam it's awful. He has her chained up somewhere and he's raping her." She felt physically ill.

Pam's face went fierce and her fangs ran out. Sookie grabbed her wrist.

"No, Someone else was there. He might kill Thalia if this guy doesn't come back. When he comes out I'll try to get a location from him, otherwise you'll have to follow him and let Eric and I know where to meet you."

Pam fumed but pulled herself together and retracted her fangs. "Fine, point him out to me." She moved to the side so she wouldn't be noticed.

"Tell Eric not to attack him." She hissed at Pam as she saw the glow from her phone. She leaned up against the wall by the door and waited for the scum to come out. As she waited she pulled several bills from her apron. She stood in a smoker's posture, holding one arm stiff out to her side. No one gives a second thought to a smoker standing around.

It was late and people were leaving the bar. Some groups, some couples, a few dejected singles. After about 10 minutes the dealer came out. Sookie dipped into his mind and found it full of self-satisfaction at making a lot of money right under the vampires' noses. He was planning to celebrate by going back and raping Thalia again. He actually chuckled at the thought. Sookie forced the bile back down her throat. She had gotten a view of the building where he was keeping her, but didn't know Shreveport well enough to know where it was.

As he pulled his carkeys from his pocket, Sookie flicked the bills to the ground behind him. Stepping away from the wall, she called out, "Excuse me, sir?" The dealer felt a surge of panic but forced himself to act like nothing was up.

"What?" he asked annoyed, as he turned around.

Sookie bent and picked up the money, letting him get a good view of her cleavage. Big boobs usually distracted men and would bring down his estimate of her IQ, which would keep him from becoming too suspicious.

"I think you dropped this." She said holding up the money and smiling stupidly at him.

"Oh, thanks." He grabbed the money and turned to go.

Sookie put her hand on his arm. "Don't I know you?"

"I don't think so." he replied, what he thought was – I would've remembered those tits.

"No, I'm sure I know you," she insisted, trying to sound ditzy. "Are you from Monroe?"

"No, I've never been there."

"Did you date my cousin, Sarah Compton?" she persisted.

"No, I don't think so." her insistence was beginning to make him think that he did know her.

"Well, where do you live? Maybe we've bumped into each other when we weren't all vamped out."

Then she got it, she saw the building again, but could see the street signs in his mental image. It was a closed down storefront, all boarded up but with rooms upstairs – that's where he lived but Thalia was in the backroom of the store downstairs. "I live over in Bossier City." he lied. He wasn't suspicious , and if he didn't have to get back he would have tried to pick her up. The thought made her skin crawl, but she kept it off her face.

She shook her head, "Nope, I never get out that way. You must just remind me of someone." She glanced at her watch. "Oops, I got to get back, I don't want to be fired my first night. See ya." She turned and sashayed off, swinging her hips more than normal. That kept him distracted enough that he didn't think about the exchange, only the missed opportunity.

Enough people were leaving the bar now that Sookie felt safe whispering, "Pam, I know where she is now." before reentering the bar.


	8. Chapter 8

I know, it's been a long week. I really apologize for the silence during the week, but real-life duties call. Enjoy!

Chapter 8 The Rescue

Gingerly lowering her shields she tried to pick up on the thoughts of the guy waiting for an attack but couldn't find him again, and she was afraid he must have already left. Looks like she'll have to come back tomorrow. The crowd had thinned out a lot, they must have done last call.

"Feeling better?" Leanna asked as she passed with a tray of dirty glasses and empty bottles.

Sookie smiled warmly at her, "Yeah, thanks. Did I miss last call?" Keeping up the charade so she could return to deal with the VampBait problem.

"Yeah, but it's not a big deal. Most of the customers had gone by then anyway."

"So what's the closing routine?" Sookie started picking up glasses and bottles.

"Pretty much this. The dishwasher will get the glasses from the bar and do wipe down. Just settle up at the register and you can go." The lights came on and they both blinked to adjust their eyes. As Sookie was looking around she noticed Eric was gone from his throne. She gathered another tray of glasses quickly, trying to think of an excuse to join him.

Fortunately, Pam came in and supplied it. "Desirée there are some papers you have to sign, follow me to the office." She walked on towards the office without breaking stride.

"Yes Mistress." Sookie replied, setting her tray down and and mouthing "sorry" to Lily and Leanna. She followed Pam to the office.

As soon as she closed the door Eric was grabbing her shoulders. "What did you see?" His fangs were out and he was furious.

"He has her in the backroom of a boarded up business." She gave the cross-streets. "He lives upstairs. Will you need to be invited to go in?"

"Maybe, if he owns it and considers the whole thing his residence. Is he alone?"

"No, I couldn't see the other person, but he had to get back and meet him and he's taking part in the rapes. Eric, we've got to get her out of there." She had tears in her eyes for Thalia.

Eric hugged her, "We will, we'll leave now."

She shook her head and stepped back. "I have to finish the shift, I have to work again tomorrow."

"We'll get them tonight, so you don't have to." Eric reasoned.

"No, someone connected with the VampBait was here waiting for another attack. I didn't want to lose this scumbag so I couldn't pinpoint him. I'll work again tomorrow and try to find him."

"Give me your apron," Pam instructed, "I'll have Indira do your tally and make an excuse to the others regarding the paperwork. Then we'll leave out the back." Sookie gave her the apron and Pam left.

"Can you open a locked door even if you can't enter the building?"

He nodded, "I can break it down but that may prompt them to kill Thalia, and we won't be able to stop them."

"But I can go in, maybe force them to invite you in. Do you have a weapon I can use to threaten them?"

"Would you use it? If not, they can easily turn it on you."

"I've defended myself before." She jutted out her jaw in determination.

"Alright," he went over to a file cabinet and pulled out a knife and a revolver. "Which do you want?"

"The gun is too loud." She said as she took the knife. "We should bring some True Blood. She'll need it."

"She'll need more than that." He moved to the minifridge and took out a couple of IV bags full of blood and stuffing them into a messenger bag.

"Where did you get that?" She looked at him accusingly.

"I pay a blood bank, not entirely legal, but we don't have unwilling humans in the backroom." His eyes challenged her to protest.

Her mouth was a grim line but she just nodded. She looked down at her dress and realized she had no place to put the knife. "Damn, I should have brought a change of clothes. This outfit is useless."

"But quite flattering." He came up and wrapped his arms around her. "You don't have to go, Pam and I can take care of this."

She relaxed against him but shook her head. "Not if you can't get in. You need me, Thalia needs me."

His arms tightened, "You always amaze me." He kissed the top of her head.

"Ahem." Pam cleared her throat from the doorway. They turned to look at her but did not part. "Do we have a plan?"

"I'll break down the door. If we can't enter Sookie will force them to invite us." Sookie held up the knife.

"That's it?" Pam looked dubious.

"Unless you have a better one." Sookie challenged.

"Unfortunately, no." She shrugged. "Are we flying?"

Eric looked down at Sookie, her eyes widened but she nodded. He grinned, taking her hand and leading her out the back door.

Once in the alley he took the knife from her and tucked it into his belt. He moved to pick her up but she shook her head and climbed onto one of the crates. "Turn around." she instructed. With a bemused look he turned his back to her and she put one arm over his shoulder and brought the other up under his other arm and clasped them across his chest. Pam watched the whole procedure with an eyebrow raised.

"Have we done this before?" he asked.

"You ran with me on your back, but I don't think you left the ground."

Handing the knife to Pam, he grabbed her behind the knees and hoisted her further up so she was riding piggyback. "Wrap your legs around me too, we'll be going fast and high." She did and with no other warning he pushed off. Her arms and legs tightened around him and she closed her eyes and pressed her face against his back because they were going so fast the air stung.

"Are you okay?" he asked after a minute.

She nodded against his back and could feel him laugh.

In just a few minutes more they were slowing and going down. She looked up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, we're here." He landed softly. He let go of her legs but she stayed wrapped around him. "You can let go." He suggested.

"Give me a minute." she said, taking a deep, calming breath, trying to will her muscles to loosen. He chuckled and ran his fingers along the underside of her thighs. She squirmed and scolded him in a hushed voice "Eric!". But she was able to unwrap her legs and lowered herself to the ground. He turned to steady her.

"I've got you." his hands were on her hips and she braced her hands on his upper arms. "Are you alright?"

She nodded gulping, "I'm going to need goggles if we do that again."

Pam came up and thrust her hand with the knife between them. "Which building?" she asked, her fangs were out and she looked like she wanted to kill something.

Taking the knife, Sookie looked around. Three of the four corners had boarded up businesses. The recession had hit this part of Shreveport hard. Recognizing the building she pointed it out. "That one, the door's in back." Pam headed up the alley Sookie had indicated, Eric took her hand, kissed the back and they followed his child. There was a car parked there, Pam felt the hood.

"It's still warm." she whispered.

Eric headed for the door, but Sookie put her hand on his arm, then closed her eyes to "look" in the building. She found the emptiness that indicated a vampire in a ground floor room to the left of the door, she was alone. Upstairs she found two human minds, they were in the same room and not moving around. One she knew, the dark, slimy mind of the dealer, the other was just as dark. They were reveling in their take and drinking heavily.

Sookie related this to her companions. "Can you glamor an invitation?" They nodded. "Okay, let's try to open the door quietly. Give me the blood and I'll sneak in and give it to Thalia. They don't think she is going to last much longer. I'll block the door so they can't get in and then you make some noise and glamor them when they come down." She looked for agreement.

The vampires exchanged looks then Eric handed her the bag with the blood, grabbing her wrist after she took the bag. "Do not untie her," he said urgently, "give her the blood but leave her bound."

"But..." Sookie began to protest.

Eric tightened his grip and she winced in pain. "Do not untie her, we don't know what state she's in. I mean it." Sookie could tell by his expression that he did and she nodded.

"Okay, let's go." He released her and headed for the door. Turning the knob he found that it was locked but Eric turned it harder and something crunched inside the knob and the door opened quietly. He tried a step forward and his foot crossed the threshold. He looked back at them, his fangs were out and he looked excited, he began moving up the hall and motioned them to follow. Sookie pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

"Those are the stairs up." she whispered. "This is the door to Thalia." Indicating the one to her left.

"Feed her, don't untie her." He instructed again, and she nodded, fighting to keep from rolling her eyes because she wanted him to know she took it seriously. He and Pam continued down the hall. She went to the door and tried the knob. This one was not locked. She entered it slowly, closing the door behind her, then grasping blindly for the string she knew would turn on the bare bulb in the ceiling. As the bulb flickered on Thalia hissed and struggled weakly. Sookie almost threw-up at what the dim light revealed.

Thalia was naked, blindfolded and chained to a table with silver, her skin burned away wherever the chains touched. One arm was hanging off the side of the table strapped to a board with a catheter draining the blood from her. Her butt was right up to the edge of the table and her legs tied so that her heels were against the back of her thighs granting her rapists easy access. Extra silver chains were draped across her torso and around her breasts just for the pain they caused. She was gaunt and drawn, her skin looked like stretched leather. Setting aside her own revulsion Sookie approached her slowly, speaking softly and soothingly.

"It's okay Thalia," she whispered. "It's me, Sookie. Eric, Pam and I are here to rescue you." She pulled the tube from the vampire's arm, the hole began to close, but very slowly by vampire standards. She took that as a very bad sign. She removed the blindfold but Thalia's eyes were wild and showed no recognition of Sookie. She cut a corner off one of the blood bags and held it to Thalia's lips. "I have blood for you Thalia, drink it." Thalia bit at Sookie's fingers and she pulled them back. "Thalia, it's Sookie, you have to drink from the bag." She let a few drops fall on the emaciated vampire's lips and her tongue came out and sampled them, her eyes focused on the bag and Sookie again lowered it to her lips murmuring encouragement. "Okay, Thalia, here's the bag, just drink the blood okay?" Thalia latched onto the bag and started draining it quickly. Sookie held it up so she could get every drop. Overhead she heard a small scuffle that lasted only a few seconds. She sighed, Eric and Pam should be down soon.

Thalia drained the first bag in less than a minute. Sookie cut the second bag and Thalia took it without a problem. She seemed to be calming somewhat but still tugged on her restraints. "Thalia, don't, Pam and Eric will be down soon and they'll untie you." Sookie could hear raised voices overhead, but couldn't make out what they were saying, surely whatever the fight was about could wait. Thalia had just about drained the second bag, Sookie released it but Thalia held on to it with her mouth. Sookie looked down at the bound woman with tears in her eyes. "I can't untie you, but I'm going to try to get rid of some of these chains. I'm sorry if this hurts."

Gingerly Sookie started to lift the chain that was wrapped around one of Thalia's breasts. The vampire hissed and arched her back. "I'm sorry Thalia, I wish I could make this not hurt. But look your skin is healing." Indeed, as the chain was removed the ugly wounds were closing up. She repeated the procedure on the other side, Thalia was lying still, maybe she had passed out. Quickly, Sookie removed the chains criss-crossing her abdomen. She wondered what was taking Eric and Pam so long.

"Thalia, I'll be right back, I'm going to get Pam." She whispered to the still form. Clasping the knife, she listened at the door, first with her ears and then with her mind. The vampires seemed to be pacing and the humans were still. She opened the door and went to the stairway at the end of the hall. In a normal voice she said, "I'm coming up.", knowing the vampires could hear her without yelling. She started up the stairs.

Pam met her at the top of the stairway. "How is she?"

"Bad, she drank all the blood, but she still looks leathery. I removed the tube they were using to drain her, and some chains that were only there to torture her, but if I can't untie her that's all I can do." She felt pretty useless at this point.

Pam nodded. "Eric has things in hand up here, I'll go down to be with her. Stay with Eric." She sounded grim.

Sookie entered the open doorway, the place smelled of garbage and stale beer. The rooms were strewn with fast food wrappers. The two drainers were sitting in rickety kitchen chairs, with vacant expressions on their faces. They were answering Eric's questions in a dull monotone. He stopped them when he saw her.

"Did they have any other accomplices?" she asked.

Eric shook his head, "No apparently, it was just them. They followed her home to find her house and set a trap with one of those damn silver nets." Sookie remembered how the two hired thugs had been able to catch Eric in one of those.

"Do they know anything about the fairy blood?" Not that she really thought they did but she wanted to be sure.

Eric turned back towards them. "Are you involved in the draining of fairies?"

They looked confused, "We haven't drained any fags, there's no money in it."

"Please tell me they aren't really human." She looked at them with loathing, she was ashamed for her species.

"I'm afraid they are." He turned to the refrigerator. Inside there was some beer, rotten food and several IV bags of blood.

"Thalia's?"

He nodded and picked up a crumpled bag from the floor and filled it with the bags of blood and the cash that was spread on the table.

"I'm going to see if I can find a clean blanket to cover Thalia." She went down a short hall. She wanted to ask Eric what he was going to do with the men, but she was afraid of the answer and even more afraid to admit to herself that she didn't really care. Opening a closet door she found a blanket crumpled and shoved on a shelf. She shook it out and it looked clean enough, so she threw it over her arm.

When she came back into the kitchen Eric had the men on their feet. "Do you want me to carry that?" She asked pointing to the bag. He nodded, tight-lipped and handed it to her. She started down the stairs and heard Eric and the men following her.

When she got to the bottom of the stair, she proceeded to the hall and opened the door to Thalia's room. She had the briefest view of Thalia, unchained, sitting on the table, Pam holding her by her shoulders. Then Thalia launched herself at Sookie and Pam cursed in the background. The force of the charge slammed Sookie into the wall opposite the door. Only instinct allowed her to bring the bulk of the blanket between her and the feral vampire, but it was an inadequate shield to the task and she knew it. Thalia was snarling and clawing at the blanket, which was shredding, and Sookie cried out as the vampire's nails sliced her arm.

Pam and Eric were yelling and suddenly Thalia was no longer attacking, though Sookie could still hear her snarls. There was a scuffle and a door slammed shut, muffled screams could be heard and then they died out. Trembling, she lowered the flimsy shield and looked at the door then around her. Pam and Eric stood there, both had rapidly healing gashes. Pam was looking with satisfaction at the closed door, Eric was looking at her, his expression unreadable. Neither drainer was in the hallway.

"You're bleeding." Pam pointed out when she smelled the blood in the air.

Sookie looked at her arm, in addition to a deep gash there were several lighter scratches that she didn't feel until now. The blanket probably saved her from a major slashing.

"I'll heal." she shrugged. She looked at the closed door. "Will Thalia?"

Pam licked her lips, looking at Sookie's arm, but spoke. "She needed a lot of blood, they drained her severely."

"But mentally, will she be okay?"

Still fixated on the blood oozing from Sookie's wounds Pam shrugged. "If she has enough blood she'll go into a healing sleep, if not we'll have to get her out of here and then deal with her." Her eyes never left the scratches.

Rolling her eyes, Sookie extended the arm, "Oh for... go ahead, lick it off." Pam did not need to be told twice, she took Sookie's arm and began to lick. Sookie turned to Eric and jerked her head in the direction of her arm. "Eric?" she offered.

He shook his head and addressed his child. "Pam, can you take care of this?"

Pam lifted her head and sighed, "I think so, Thalia should be manageable and I'll take care of the evidence." Sookie looked at her arm, the chemical in Pam's saliva had stopped the bleeding.

He turned to the door and said over his shoulder, "Sookie, when you're ready, I'll take you home." He went out the door.

Sookie stared at the door wondering what was wrong with Eric, she looked at Pam questioningly, but she just rolled her eyes. Worried about Eric's new mood Sookie grabbed the bag and moved to the door.

Pam put her hand on Sookie's shoulder to stop her. "Before you go, can you sense if there are any people in the building next to this one?"

Sookie closed her eyes and reached out with her gift. She could sense no one in the next building, human or vampire. She opened her eyes and relayed this to Pam, then asked "Why?"

Pam raised one eyebrow in an expression that clearly asked if Sookie really wanted to know. The telepath decided she didn't. "Goodnight Pam." she said softly before joining Eric in the alley.


	9. Chapter 9

Apparently Eric's mood is a huge point of concern. I won't say more except I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.

I forgot to put a disclaimer in last chapter. Obviously I don't own any of these characters.

Chapter 9 New Memories

Eric was standing with his back to the door when she came out, he didn't turn to face her.

"Eric?" she touched his back lightly.

"I'm sorry I broke our agreement. It wasn't my intent." He still hadn't turned to her. "Though they would not have gotten half of what they deserved in the courts, I was going to turn them over to the police."

"I believe you." She whispered sadly, "Eric, was it them or me?"

He turned, "Them, you or Thalia. We could have killed her to stop her but she was blood-starved and driven out of her mind by what they had done to her." He held her upper arms. "I had to chose and I protected you and one of my own kind." He was looking for forgiveness, but wouldn't ask.

She granted it. "Eric, I understand, I would have made the same choice. I'm sure Thalia was no saint in the past, but she is the victim here. You did what you had to." She put her hands on his chest.

His face filled with relief. "I was afraid you would hate me for this. But better that than letting you die." His expression changed to one of uncertainty. "But I understand if you've changed your mind about tonight."

She put one hand on his cheek. "I haven't. What I saw in there was so horrible, I need to know that tenderness still exists." He smiled slightly and covered her mouth with his, his arms circling her. The kiss lit the spark of desire within her and she was breathless in seconds. Using all of her willpower she broke off the kiss, "Okay, great start, but not in this alley." She looked toward the door. "Does Pam need help?"

He sighed deeply, "Yes, she probably does. Let me get you back to the apartment and I'll help her, then come to you." The last was in the tone that always made her knees weak.

She shook her head and he looked disappointed. "Bring me to Fangtasia and I'll meet you at the apartment."

"Why?"

"Well, my purse, keys and car are all there. I'll need them tomorrow." He nodded, then looked at the door.

In less than a minute, Pam poked her head out, "What?"

"I'll be back to help after I take Sookie to her car." Pam gave a curt nod and disappeared behind the door.

He took the bag from Sookie and turned so she could climb on his back. As soon as she was in position he took off at the same extreme speed as before.

"Do you have to go so fast?" she shouted into his back.

He laughed, "I don't want to waste any time."

She held him tighter and soon they were landing. He pulled a key from his pocket and opened the back door while she was sliding from his back. He headed to his office and she went to her locker. In addition to her purse, her apron and an envelope with her tips were there, just with a glance she could tell it was easily three times what she would have made at Merlotte's. Eric came back without the bag, but with several bottles of strong rum.

"Are you planning to get me drunk?" she asked jokingly.

He grinned but said, "These aren't for you."

"I don't want to know, do I?"

"Probably not. Let me walk you to your car." He gestured for her to lead the way.

Digging her keys out of her purse as she walked she asked. "What are you going to do with Thalia's blood? You can't put it back in like a transfusion, can you?"

"Unfortunately that doesn't work. I'll probably barter it to Dr. Ludwig, at least it will go to healing and it won't be wasted."

Sookie shivered inwardly at the memory of Dr. Ludwig, her odd bedside manner and the reason she needed to be healed in the first place. They reached her car. "Be careful, and hurry." She stood on tiptoes and kissed him quickly on the lips. "I'll be waiting." she promised then quickly got in the car.

"Not for long." he assured her. He waited until she was pulling out of the parking lot then took off.

Sookie was giddy on the way back to the apartment. It had been too long and Eric had been the best lover she had had. Alright, grammatically it should be that he was the better lover, since her experience was so limited, but she was comfortable sticking with the superlative. Either way her skin was tingling just thinking about him.

The trip back to the apartment was a blur, she vaguely remembered driving back and parking but now she was in the elevator urging it to go faster. When the doors finally opened on her temporary living room she threw her purse on the nearest couch. She started to head to the back area of the apartment when she had an idea. She took off her shoes and left one in front of the elevator and the other propping open the door leading back. She continued undressing as she went, leaving a trail of 'breadcrumbs' for Eric to follow to the bedroom. She continued into the bathroom. She turned on all the banks of showerheads and entered the large stall. Rinsing the black ends out of her hair and removing all other traces of Desirée.

As her hands lathered her body she thought of her first time with Eric, the surprise, the trepidation, but most of all the passion. Her skin flamed at the memory and the fire spread to her core. She slowly turned, letting the water wash over her as she remembered every moment of their first night together.

"I hope you are thinking about me." Sookie jumped and turned at the sound of his voice. He was standing naked at the open door of the shower. His eyes were hungry, his fangs were down and his gracious plenty was … plentiful.

She stepped towards him and held out both hands, "Just remembering our first night together." He stepped in, closing the door and taking her hands.

"I'm afraid you'll have to refresh my memory." Pulling her close, caressing her back. "Perhaps a dramatic re-enactment?" he suggested as he lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss both gentle and seductive. She melted against him, her hands tracing the contours of his back and moving down to squeeze his sculpted ass. A low growl formed in his throat and the gentleness of the kiss was replaced with a fierce desire.

Breaking off the kiss to breathe she looked at him intently while reaching for the bottle of shower gel and poured a liberal portion into her hand before handing him the bottle. He arched an eyebrow at her but repeated her actions. Facing each other, his hands slid down her back to squeeze her butt, his fingers sliding between her cheeks causing her to gasp. Her hands started low on his back and worked their way up to his shoulders. He took advantage of her raised arms to bring his hands lightly up her sides, his slick fingers tickled her and she brought her arms down to defend her ribs.

He turned her in his arms and pulled her to him. She could feel his manhood against her back and moved against it, eliciting another deep growl. His lathered hands covered her breasts, teasing the tips into hard buds. She reached up behind his neck, turning her head to expose her neck to him. He bent and trailed kisses along it, his fangs lightly scraping her flesh, sending goosebumps across her skin and fire to her core. One hand moved down her stomach, pulling her closer to him. She had a sudden realization and murmured in his ear, "You drew this."

He looked down at her in passion and adoration. "I've wanted this for so long, imagined it, fantasized about it, dreamt it. But being here, holding you is better than I thought possible." He kissed her again and the hand on her stomach drifted lower, between her legs. She whimpered into his kiss as his fingers parted her and unerringly found her throbbing nubbin. He gently stroked her, a light feathery touch that quickly left her panting and clinging to his neck for support. Small tremors started in her abdomen and thighs, he broke off the kiss to gaze into her eyes.

Remembering how he liked to watch her expressions as they made love she fought to keep her eyes open and looking into his. "Shouldn't we move to the bed?" she gasped.

Smiling down at her he moved his fingers inside her and his thumb began to stroke her nubbin. "Not yet." he purred as his fingers curled and moved within her, finding the special spot. Her hips thrust against his hand as she started gasping erratically and then the wave of pleasure washed over her.

Supporting her, he turned off the water as the aftershocks of her orgasm faded. He opened the shower door and grabbed a towel, drying her softly. "Mmm" she stretched as the towel moved over her. "Remind me again why we haven't done this for so long."

"Because you think I am a scoundrel and a rogue and you wouldn't trust your heart to me." He grinned down at her.

"Ahh," she wrapped her hands behind his head. "I thought it was because I was an idiot."

"Well, that too." He agreed with mock seriousness. "But I didn't want to mention it in case it spoiled the mood."

"Not possible tonight." She let go of him as he moved the towel between them to dry her front. When she was dry, and quite breathless, she stilled his hands taking the towel from him. "My turn." she claimed with a gleam in her eyes. Flipping the towel over his shoulders she began rubbing his back, working her way down to his butt, which she spent a great deal of time on. "I've said it before and I'll say it again – I love your butt."

He raised an eyebrow. "Who have you been discussing my butt with?"

She grinned, "You." Moving the towel around to dry his chest, starting at the top and moving down.

"Really? Any other body parts we discussed?"

"Oh, we are not getting into that again." she chuckled. Squatting down she began drying up his legs.

"Why not?" As she expected his curiosity was piqued.

She rose slowly, bringing the towel up between his legs cupping him with one hand and drying along his length with the other. His pleasure was evident on his face and the small noises escaping him. "You didn't like my initial description of a particular part."

He swallowed hard to continue talking through his passion. "How did you describe it?"

"Nothing bad really." she dropped the towel at his feet and moved to the open shower door. She glanced over her shoulder at him, an innocent look on her face but a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "All I said was that it was 'adequate'." His face was blank for a minute then his jaw dropped in disbelief.

She giggled, then ran to the bed, she was turning to face him when he was on her. Straddling her hips, he pinned her to the bed, holding both of her hands in one of his above her head. If it were not for the mischief in his eyes it would have been a panic situation, as it was she giggled and pretended to struggle, which really was just an excuse to rub against him. The topic of their conversation was laid out on her stomach.

"You said no such thing." He accused.

She nodded, "I sure did. Funny, you were upset about it then too." She looked innocently confused.

He looked tragically hurt. "I am cut to the quick. How could you be so withholding of praise? There is not a part of you, whose virtues I would not extoll."

"Let's hear some extolling then." she grinned up at him jokingly.

"Your eyes are like the twilight sky, glittering with the first stars of evening." He leaned forward and kissed each eyelid tenderly. "Your smile brings the first rays of sunshine I have seen in a millennium." Her smile faded at the intensity in his eyes when she realized he meant every word, and wasn't just playing a game. She swallowed as he bent to kiss her, her throat tightening with emotion. The kiss was tender and light, barely brushing her lips, he kissed her like that, again and again before pulling back and murmuring against her lips. "Your lips are the finest mead, sweet and intoxicating, inviting sips to savor before their power overwhelms and I must drink deeply." His mouth covered hers again but this kiss was hungry and probing, his tongue exploring her mouth, mingling with hers. When he finally ended the kiss she was gasping with arousal. She looked up at him, drunk with passion and he looked pleased at the effect he was having. His eyes drifted lower, focusing on her breasts, he ran a tongue over a fang. Still holding her wrists with one hand, his other cupped one of her breasts, squeezing gently as his thumb teased her nipple. She trembled at his touch. "Your breasts are perfection, Freya herself would be envious." He bent and kissed each worshipfully before covering a rosy tip with his mouth, flicking his tongue over the bud, then biting it lightly. He kissed his way to the other and brought that nipple to a hard bud. He let his fangs scrape lightly across her skin, keeping her breathless and moaning. She was writhing under him, her arms straining to be free so she could touch him. Fire coursed from her breasts to her core and she wanted him now.

He straightened looking at her face again, his eyes were fierce with desire. He took one wrist in each hand and brought her hands to his lips. "These hands," he kissed the palm of each. "are the only human hands I would trust with my life." He brought them down to his shaft, she wrapped her hands around him without hesitation, she smiled at the shudder of pleasure went through him.

Smiling up at him as she stroked his length she elaborated. "I did say that was my _initial_ description."

"Oh?"

"We did finally find a term you found agreeable."

"And that was?" his voice a husky whisper.

"Let's see if I can remember." she stalled as she continued to caress him. "I remember now."

"Well?"

"A gracious plenty."

His face brightened, "I think I can settle for that." He shifted so he was beside her and brought his hand down her abdomen, down to her nest of light hair. She gasped in anticipation, but his fingers did not part her. Instead they traced little meandering paths through the curls, barely touching her skin. It was exquisite torment, each movement fanned the fire at her core but did not slake it. She moved, trying to increase contact, but he anticipated and kept the contact light. She moaned in frustration.

He chuckled wickedly as he again covered her breast with his mouth. She arched into him, her breathing ragged. His tongue caressed her nipple and she trembled, her hands tightened on him, passing the trembling to him.

His fingers entered her then, her hips bucking up to meet them. Within moments she was gasping, "Eric."

"Yes, my lover?" he was keeping his voice steady with effort. His eyes dark with passion.

"I need you inside me now."

He shifted to between her legs, his tip pressed against her entrance. "Now? You're sure you don't want to think this over some more.?"

"Now, it's been too long." She reached down and grabbed his butt, trying to pull him in.

"Ah, but for me this is the first time." he pointed out.

"Then make love to me again for the first time." she quipped.

"I can't argue with that." and he thrust within her, filling her as only he could. She gasped as she stretched around him and he looked down at her with concern. "Did I hurt you?"

She smiled up at him and shook her head, bringing one hand up to the side of his face. Knowing what he wanted to hear she whispered, "I am yours."

His eyes flamed and he began to thrust into her, shifting slightly with each thrust until he found an angle that made her gasp. Then he began to thrust harder and faster. She felt her release approaching, turning her head to the side, but keeping eye contact. She pulled the hair away from her neck, baring it for him. Supporting himself with one hand he gently turned her head back to face him, his fingers caressed her neck. Only when the first spasms of her climax began did he lower his head to slide his fangs into her neck. With each draw he magnified and prolonged her orgasm. Licking her wound closed, he came right after, moaning something in an ancient tongue with his final thrusts.

She felt him relax above her though he supported his weight as he licked his bite again. When he pulled out of her she moaned softly. He froze and looked down at her. "Are you alright?" He moved to her side.

She smiled at him like the cat that got the cream and stretched languidly. "More than alright, I just felt so complete." She rolled her eyes and turned her head. "That sounds so hokey, I'm sorry."

He turned her head back to face him. He searched her face and his eyes had a warmth that was different from the heat of passion. "Don't be sorry," he chided her, "I, too, felt like that was where I should be." That could have sounded territorial or corny, but there was such tenderness in his voice, his face, his eyes, that her eyes welled with tears and she had to swallow a lump in her throat.

She raised a hand to his cheek and he covered it with his own, turning his head to kiss her palm. "I've missed you," she whispered, "more than I was willing to admit to myself."

He looked at her, studying her face, she knew he could see it clearly in the darkness. "Did you miss me or this?" His hand released hers and moved between her legs, parting her and stroking her nub in a slow rhythm.

Her breath caught and she had to swallow hard to form words. "I'd be lying if I didn't admit to missing this." Her hand covered his, but she stilled his fingers, then returned her hand to his cheek. "But I really missed you." She looked into his eyes.

"I've been here." His tone conveyed that he was stating the obvious.

"No, you haven't and neither have I." His obvious confusion prompted her to elaborate. "Since you stayed at my house we've both been different. I've been tense and nervous. Afraid of myself around you and wary that you would remember and resent your vulnerability when you were with me. You had been afraid of what you might have done to me." She blinked the tears from her eyes. "I've missed our banter, and being able to talk to you without guarding every word. I even miss our arguments."

He grinned, "It has been hard not provoking you. You get so indignant and you would argue back. So few humans will stand up to any vampire, let alone me, but you do, even though I can tell you are frightened." He looked at her with admiration.

"You like me to fight with you?' she asked incredulously.

"Very much, really you are the only one I can truly have an argument with. As I said, humans won't and there are very few vampires I can argue with." At her confused look he explained. "I can't let those vampires subordinate to me, Chow, Bill, Indira, Thalia argue with me. It would be perceived as weakness. And for the same reason, vampires above me cannot allow me to argue with them."

"So you like to argue with me because I am apolitical?"

He nodded, "But I have other reasons, for one thing you think like a human, which I do not mean in a bad way," He quickly clarified. "You quite often give me a perspective I hadn't considered." She smiled at the appreciation in his voice.

"You said other reason_s_- why else do you like to argue with me?" This felt so comfortable, like when she laid on the rug with him in front of the fire.

The hand she had stilled began tracing light circles on her thigh, making her shiver. He smiled crookedly at her. "When we argue, your eyes light up with passion, I can hear your heart speed up and you flush. I can smell the blood rushing beneath your skin." He started nuzzling that skin along her neck as his fingers continued teasing her thigh.

"Wait a minute.." she pushed herself up on her elbow. Eric let her neck slip away from him but moved down to her breasts. She tried to push his head away so she could look at him but he resisted and she ended up running her fingers through his hair and holding his head to her. The passion was rising in her again but she persisted. "Are you saying that you get turned on when we fight? Eric. That's twisted."

As he shifted from one breast to the other he mumbled, "Not exactly." His fingers moved to tease her entrance.

She fought the primal lust that was threatening to sap her reason, gasping she asked, "Not exactly what?"

Teasing her nipple after each word he explained. "Our arguments don't turn me on so much as they..." He paused, looking to be sure he had her attention, "...make me hungry." he smiled and his fangs clicked out. At the raw hunger in his eyes Sookie shivered, but it wasn't from fear.

He started kissing and nipping his way down her body, lingering in more sensitive areas, all the while his fingers kept a slow, light rhythm on her nub. She was breathless by the time he began kissing her thighs which had little tremors running through them. Then his fingers were gone and she watched in anticipation as he kissed his way to her apex. His tongue traced her entrance and she moaned, his fingers parted her and his mouth explored her. When his tongue finally flicked her nerve center she cried out. He chuckled against her and the low vibrations sent a shiver through her.

"Eric... I...I, oh please!" she couldn't complete a thought as her prolonged near-ecstasy had stripped her mind of everything but the feelings he was sending through her. Then his mouth covered her nubbin, he sucked it in between his fangs while his tongue flicked against it. She cried out with her release.

As the world came back into focus, he was beside her again, holding her close and stroking her hair. She snuggled against him, not having the strength left for anything else. "Rest a little," he whispered, "we have all night."

She tried to protest, thinking that the night was almost gone, but she was so pleasantly exhausted and happy that she drifted off before she could form a single word.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry, I only got 2 chapters out last weekend. With the end of the school year wrapping up, things get hectic when you have 3 kids and your husband is a teacher. This week I will be on a business trip to Louisville, I don't know if that means I'll have more or less time for writing, but I'll do my best.

Thank you everyone for your reviews. They have all (except for the one implying my story was dog feces) been great and so encouraging. I wish I had time to reply to them all individually, maybe when the story is done...

Again, I don't own anything.

Chapter 10

She awoke on her stomach, Eric's large hands were massaging her back. It felt wonderful, and she made a little sound of pleasure in her throat. "That's not too hard is it?" he asked softly, stilling his hands.

"No, it's perfect." She stretched while his hands were still. "How long is it till dawn?" He began rubbing again, working his way down her back.

"About half an hour." He shifted so he could kiss her back as well as rub it.

"Can you stay?" She had thought the room seemed light tight, but knew he would know.

"Do you want me to?" His hands covered her rear and kneaded, while his thumbs traced the crease. Her heartbeat sped up.

"Yes." She tried to turn over but he moved one hand back between her shoulder blades.

"Not yet, I'm not done with your massage. You're sure you want me to stay?" He murmured, while his other hand moved lower, between her legs which parted readily for him, to find her nubbin which jumped at his touch.

"Oh god, Eric yes!"

"Having you call my name with such passion drives me wild." He purred against her back. He had one knee between her legs and she was bringing her own knees forward, raising her hips and pushing back against his hand.

She could feel his arousal along her thigh, and tried to raise her torso, but his hand and body continued to press down on her. "Mmm Eric, I want to touch you." She reached back and ran her hand along his length. She heard his fangs click down. The hand on her back slid around her to her chest and he pulled her up to her knees in front of him. His other hand came around and continued to tease her nub from the front.

She continued stroking him, while her other hand reached behind him to grab his butt. A low growl, almost a purr, built in the back of his throat. She turned her head to look up at him and his mouth devoured hers as his hands brought her again to the brink. When she finally broke off the kiss to breathe he kissed down the column of her neck to her shoulder. She waited in anticipation for his bite, but it didn't come, instead his hand returned between her shoulder blades and pressed her torso down, she released him so she could prop herself up, spreading her legs and tilting her hips up like a cat in heat.

She looked back at him, her eyes dark and heavy-lidded with passion, "Eric, I am... I'm..." Her voice a throaty whisper.

In a single, lithe movement he shifted between her legs, and entered her from behind, driving himself in all the way until his body crashed into hers. "Mine!" Though the word was possessive he said it with joy. She cried out as he filled her and this angle magnified the sensations. His hand continued to rub her nerve center even as his thrusts brought his balls crashing against it. She bucked against his thrusts increasing the impact.

She only faintly heard the crunching noise, then Eric shifted forward, and his bloody wrist appeared in front of her. "Drink!" he urged, and she grabbed his wrist without thinking and closed her mouth over the wound.

As soon as the blood hit her tongue ecstasy overwhelmed her. Her first draw on his wrist sent him over the edge and he arched her back and bit her neck as his final spasms shook them.

He eased them onto their sides, still spooned together as he licked her wound closed and she licked the last of the blood away from his now-healed wrist. They were quiet for awhile. She was pleasantly reviewing their lovemaking, committing every moment to memory, when something he had said floated to the forefront of her thoughts.

"What about Pam?" she asked.

He shifted onto an elbow to look down at her, confusion and worry on his face. "What about Pam, what? I thought you weren't mad at her about yesterday."

She turned on her back to look up at him. "No, not that, When you were talking about vampires below you who couldn't argue with you, you didn't list Pam."

He looked relieved, "I'll let Pam argue with me privately at times, but since I am her maker I can always overrule her. I can even command her to be quiet." He grinned. Sookie could just imagine Pam's face when he did.

"What do you argue about?"

"Running the bar, other decisions." he shrugged and ran his fingers softly along her arm. He looked like he was trying to change the subject. She noticed the claw marks on her arm from Thalia were almost fully healed.

"What was your last argument about?" she pressed.

"It's not important."

"Tell me." His reluctance was piquing her curiosity.

"She wanted to kill those drainers tonight when we caught them. She was mad, when I didn't, she said I was getting too soft." He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"She blamed it on me didn't she?"

"Don't be mad at her, she actually likes you." he seemed surprised at that. But his face did show worry. He obviously did not want friction between the two women in his life.

Sookie realized she wasn't mad at Pam. In the literally cut-throat world of vampire politics, any sign of weakness could make Eric a target. Pam loved Eric, anyone could see that. He was searching her face for her reaction. She rolled her eyes and said with a grin, "Well, she made that obvious last night. First her, then Thalia, tonight I'll have to be on my guard around Indira. Since I have suddenly become irresistible to the lady vamps of Fangtasia."

"Not just the lady vamps." he said and kissed her deeply again. Five minutes ago she would have said she was too tired to have sex again, but maybe it was his blood, her body was responding and aching for him.

She kissed her way back to his ear to bite his earlobe, then she whispered. "This kind of vamp attack I can live with." and he chuckled in her ear.

Then she sat bolt upright, Eric asked, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, looking past him as her mind began to spin a plan. "No, a vamp attack!" She said as if it were obvious what she was talking about. She turned to him. "Eric, can you attack me tomorrow night?"

"I was about to attack you now." He replied moving in to kiss her again but she held him back.

"No, I mean at the bar."

"In my office?"

"No, out on the floor." speaking as if he were very thick for not catching on.

"Besides breaking several ordinances, I didn't think you would be open to such a public display."

Exasperated she backed up to explain. "No, to try to draw out the person in the crowd waiting for an attack." Eric started to comprehend what she was talking about. "Whoever it is will probably try to take pictures and stay as long as possible to get details. So we stage an attack and try to figure out who it is."

"If there is another attack in the bar so soon after the last one, the police will probably close us down for awhile."

"But if I don't press charges, it probably will only be for a little while. If someone else gets in wearing Vamp Bait and they really get hurt or killed how long will the bar be shutdown?"

"Indefinitely." he conceded. "But will you be able to scan for him while being attacked? I would imagine it would be very distracting."

"Not if I knew it was fake. If I figure out who it is before the planned attack I can always signal you to cancel it. But if I can't find them, there needs to be an attack, or they'll think their plan isn't working and they'll abandon it and we won't know what they will do next until it is too late." She dared him to find a flaw with that plan.

"Wouldn't it be better if I attacked someone else, while you scanned the crowd?"

She shook her head. "We would have to let whoever it is in on it and we don't know if they are involved, we might tip our hand. Plus, since I just had some of your blood, I should heal pretty fast." she reasoned.

He nodded, he looked like he was trying to think of another plan, whether it was because he did not want the bar shut down or didn't want to put her in harm's way she wasn't sure. But she wouldn't blame him for either. Then suddenly he stood, "Alright, stand up."

"Why?"

Mischief twinkled in his eyes. "So I can rehearse attacking you." he grinned, "We want it to look real don't we?"

They then tried various angles of attack to see which would seem most real and at the same time let her face be hidden so she could concentrate. Once they had decided they had hit upon a good approach, they practiced that a couple of times, before the tone of the attack changed and their passion ignited once more. Unfortunately time was against them and they both broke off a passionate kiss to yawn.

"I'm sorry," Sookie apologized. "I've been up for a long time."

Eric nodded, "It's well past dawn I'm afraid. I can sleep in the other room..." he offered.

"No, I do want you to stay. I'll be right out." She slipped into the bathroom, to brush her teeth and take care of necessities. Turning to return to the bedroom she saw the nightgown she had bought hanging on the door and slipped into it.

When she came out Eric was pacing, he stopped when he saw her, his eyes swept her appreciatively. "That's beautiful."

"Thank you." she said heading toward him. "I bought it for tonight, but you got here before I could change into it."

He wrapped his arms loosely around her. "Well, I'm glad, because it probably wouldn't have survived. But now I can admire you in it as I fall asleep." He kissed her tenderly, then scooped her up to lay her lightly on the bed, climbing in next to her and pulling the covers over them both. She turned to him and he slipped an arm under her, pulling her in against him.

"Goodnight Eric." She whispered.

"Goodnight Sookie."

Slowly Sookie woke feeling happy, but that changed to panic as she started to stretch and found herself trapped, something pinning her across her upper arms and legs. Her eyes popped open and she realized she wasn't bound just still wrapped in Eric's arms, one of his legs spread across hers. She was not used to waking up next to someone, since other than their brief stay in Dallas, Bill had always been gone from her bed by dawn. The problem was, right now Eric was just so much dead weight, with an emphasis on dead.

Waking up next to a vampire in the daytime was creepy, because during this 'sleep' they really did seem like corpses. They didn't breath, they were room temperature and almost impossible to rouse. Suppressing a shudder she shifted to try to move Eric's arm off her. Fortunately his hands were not clasped so she was able to slowly pull his arm so she could slide out from under it. His leg was heavier, but she was finally able to slide out from under it too.

"At least I don't have to tiptoe around." she murmured as she turned on the light and found her watch. It was almost 2:00 in the afternoon. "Crap." She had planned on getting up much earlier and getting things done, like talking to Claudine. She looked around for her purse and remembered she had left it on the couch before leaving the trail for Eric.

She went out to the living room and dug in her purse to find her cellphone. There were three voicemails, she listened to them while looking to see if the salads still looked edible, they didn't. One message was from Sam checking to see if everything was alright. The other two were from Claudine, the first just asking for a call back which came in at about 8am, in the second she sounded urgent and worried and that came in about noon.

She called Claudine right back. The fairy's voice was not her normal cheerful tone. "Sookie, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I was up late and left my cellphone in the other room so I didn't hear your calls. Did you find out anything?"

"Maybe, can we meet?" her voice was still urgent, so it just wasn't Sookie not answering that she was worried about.

"Sure, where?"

"I can come to you, where are you?"

"No, you can't come here." The last thing she needed was a fairy-scented living room. Plus it would be too dangerous for Claudine with Eric in the apartment.

"Something is wrong isn't it?" She was suspicious.

"No, it's just that Eric is here, and he's sleeping now, but I don't want you to be in danger. Can we meet for a late lunch?" That would kill two birds with one stone.

"Alright, where?" She didn't sound happy.

"You know Shreveport better than me, is there something close to this apartment?" she told Claudine the cross streets. She knew of a diner not far from there and they agreed to meet in an hour.

Sookie was late getting there, she had needed to wet down her hair to get it under control since it hadn't gotten combed after the shower the night before, and she had taken a wrong turn on the way. When she finally arrived she found a very nervous Claudine already seated at a booth.

After a quick hug Sookie sat, "You looked spooked." She said softly.

"I am, things are happening Sook and I'm not sure what."

"Have any fa..." she broke off as the waitress came up to take her order. She hadn't even looked at the menu but ordered chicken fried steak and a sweet tea. Claudine just ordered a coffee.

Completing her question, suddenly wary of listening ears, Sookie asked, "Have any of your folk gone missing?"

"Maybe, we're hard to follow, we can travel from here to home easily and no one keeps track. But there's something else," she looked around to see if anyone was listening. "someone is stirring up hard feelings against the vampires."

"Who?" Sookie asked, leaning forward conspiratorially.

"I can't pin it down, there has always been an undercurrent of anti-vamp feeling, after all, over the centuries we all know someone who was lost to the vamps. But this is different." She paused as the waitress came by with their drinks, giving the woman her sparkling smile. "Thank you dear. Can you do us a favor and not seat anyone back here?"

The waitress picked up Claudine's smile "Sure, not a problem, we're not really busy now."

"Is that the same as a vampire's glamor?" Sookie asked following the departing waitress with her eyes.

"No!" Apparently that offended the fairy. "She's happy and wants to make me happy. I am not controlling her mind."

"All right." Sookie agreed, although she didn't see a lot of difference. "You were saying?" she prompted.

"Well, the undercurrent is picking up steam and bubbling to the surface. But I haven't been able to pick up one source for the increased intensity, a louder voice among the throng." Sookie nodded, remembering when someone was rallying folks in Merlotte's before they burnt the vampires' house down. "I'll keep looking but since it's known I'm trying to move up, people are reluctant to talk around me."

"Was the store able to contact the manufacturer?" Sookie started on the other trail of clues.

"No answer on the phone, and I went by the address and it's a fake." Claudine shrugged, "So they definitely weren't looking to make money off it."

"Eric joked that if they were looking to make money, they would just market it to vampires." The fairy's face darkened, obviously she did not appreciate Eric's sense of humor. "That was before we hit upon this as a plot to make trouble for vampires." Sookie clarified.

"Speaking of Eric, you're with him now?" She didn't look pleased.

Blushing, Sookie nodded, she hated to kiss and tell.

"Sookie, you know that makes it harder for me to help you. It's dangerous for me to be around him."

"I know, but he was able to resist the make-up pretty well so maybe he could control himself. Now that he's him again." Remembering how he had acted around her that night at Merlotte's.

"Hmph!"

"Oh, speaking of danger..." Sookie broke off as the waitress came with her food. "Thank you, that smells wonderful!" She beamed up at the waitress.

"Can I get either of you anything else?" Her smile perking up this close to Claudine.

"I think we're good for now." The fairy responded, since Sookie was already chewing on her first bite of supper.

"Hungry?"

"Starving!" Sookie replied as she cut another piece. "I haven't eaten in almost 24 hours."

"Why not?"

"Well, I was undercover as a waitress at Fangtasia last night so I ate before I went on shift. Then I discovered the drainer and where he was keeping Thalia, so Eric, Pam and I went and freed her." Quickly eating a fork full of mashed potatoes, she continued, "After that I was otherwise occupied." she blushed again and took another bite of steak.

"I'm assuming Eric ate?" Claudine said accusingly.

"Claudine!" She was half embarrassed and half angry.

"Okay, not really my business. You were saying something about danger?" she prompted.

Sookie nodded her head and tried to finish chewing quickly. "Eric is going to attack me tonight at Fangtasia." she said flatly before taking another bite.

"What!" Claudine was almost on her feet in rage. "How do you know that? Have your gifts expanded to prescience?"

Sookie held up her hands in a "calm down" gesture. "No, it's part of our plan. Last night I picked up a stray thought of someone waiting for an attack. But I couldn't pick them out of the crowd. So tonight I am going to pose as a waitress again and see if I can pick him out. If I can't, then Eric is going to attack me and we'll see who seems most interested in the attack."

"I'm sure Eric was all for this idea." The fairy glowered.

"No, actually I had to talk him into it. It's probably going to get Fangtasia closed down for awhile and he'll have to pay a big fine." She sipped her tea, watching to see how Claudine processed that information. The fairy looked dubious but offered up no other argument. "Do you have any other leads among your people?" She took another bite.

"I haven't given up. But it may take some time. Meanwhile, I want you to be careful."

"I will be. Let me know if you find out anything."

"Same here."

"How's Claude?"

"Same as always. He might help too."

"Really?" Sookie was a little surprised that the self-absorbed fairy would bother.

"Not out of the goodness of his heart, but I can usually get him to do the right thing."

Sookie nodded as she tried to finish chewing. Of course since she was trying to hurry it seemed to be taking forever. Claudine sipped her coffee while she waited. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply he wouldn't. He just always seemed to be removed from fairy politics."

"I'm not sure this is politics, but if fairies are in danger he'll do what needs to be done." Claudine changed the subject. "How's your house? Have you gotten the kitchen replaced yet?"

They talked about the fire, Sookie filled her in on Charles, his secret agenda and what had happened since. By the time she had brought her up-to-date. Sookie had eaten all she could of her meal. After paying for the meal, they agreed to call each other in the morning, then parted with a hug.

Getting back into her car she realized she needed gas and pulled into a station on the way back to the apartment. As she was waiting to pay she glanced at the newspapers sitting in the rack. A headline caught her eye and she picked up the afternoon edition. However, just as the clerk was handing her her change her phone rang. It was Sam again, she had meant to return his call. Nodding her thanks at the clerk, she answered the phone brightly.

"Hi Sam. How are you doing?"

"Better now that I hear your voice. I was worried when you hadn't called. Is everything alright?" There was both relief and concern in his voice.

"Everything is fine, I'll be here a couple of more days though, you don't need me at Merlotte's do you?" She tucked the paper under her arm and headed back to her car.

"I'd prefer you here but I can get on for a few more days without you. I saw there was an attack at Fangtasia the other night and when I hadn't heard from you..."

"Sorry, I just got caught up in everything going on. I promise to call you tomorrow, though it probably won't be until the afternoon, working with vampires means really late nights." She didn't want him to worry when she didn't call first thing in the morning.

"Make sure you do. I'll be happier when you're back home."

"Me too. Bye."

Sam wasn't going to be happy she was back with Eric. He wouldn't say anything but she would know. Sighing she got in her car and glanced at the article. The headline read "2 Men Dead in Fire". According to the article two, as yet unidentified, men had died in a fire in what was supposed to be a closed up store. They were squatting in the building and had run their own electrical wires which were the cause of the fire. Some damage was done to a neighboring building, but it too had been closed and there were no other injuries.

Sookie sighed, she couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for the men and wondered yet again if that made her a bad person. She hoped Thalia was okay. As she started the car she realized how late it was getting, it was almost sundown. She hoped she got back before Eric awoke, she wanted to shower any traces of Claudine off her before encountering him.


	11. Chapter 11

Kind of short tonight, but it has a great breaking point. I hope you enjoy.

I paraphrased a great line from Charlaine Harris, my apologies. All the characters are hers.

Chapter 11 A Change in Plan

Sookie got back to the apartment fairly quickly and was safely in the elevator with the key turned without encountering anyone. The living room was empty and she made a dash for the bedroom, opening the door quietly, relieved to see Eric lying motionless on the bed. Leaving the door ajar to be silent she walked softly across the thick carpet. Her hand just touched the bathroom doorknob when she heard him sniff and shift in the bed. She turned and he was walking toward her sampling the air, his fangs down.

She held up a hand to warn him off. "Eric, you're smelling Claudine on me, I'm just going in to shower."

"No." Eric kept walking toward her.

"No?" She asked in a small voice, pressing herself against the bathroom door. Eric stopped right in front of her inhaling deeply.

"You smell so good." He breathed as he bent his head to her neck, inhaling deeply. "I want you now." He was kissing along her neck, his tongue sampling her skin.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea." she protested, fighting the feelings stirring within. "I think you are a little under the influence right now."

He looked her in the eye, and she was relieved to see that his were not glazed over. "I'm in control, but you are wearing my favorite perfume, and that comes with a price." He went back to kissing her neck, she shivered. She could feel him rising to the occasion.

"But we have to get to Fangtasia." She protested weakly, she was going to be very late for work.

"We have all night." he murmured against her neck. His hands pulled her to him and cupped her butt, picking her up, her legs wrapped around his waist without a thought. "First, I'm going to rub myself all over you." He carried her to the bed and lowered her down. Apparently he meant it because he was rubbing his head against her neck like a cat, while his now free hands started working on unfastening her pants. "Then I'm going to fuck you, and bite you." He added against her neck, his fangs grazing her skin.

She couldn't resist him any longer, her body, newly reacquainted with his, wanted more, and she would have been lying if she said she didn't want him. His head was still buried in her neck and she wrapped one arm around it as she began to explore his sculpted chest with the other. He caught the fairy scent on her arm and began kissing down its length. It reminded her of the Addams family. She giggled a bit at the thought.

"Ticklish?" He asked against her skin.

"No, but if you call me 'cara mia', I might laugh myself silly."

He looked up at her, confusion evident on his face.

"You've never seen 'The Addams Family'?" He shook his head. "We'll have to watch it sometime. They're your type of people."

"Right now, you are the only people I am interested in." He kissed her gently, but the kiss turned hungry like he was trying to devour her lips.

She eventually broke off the kiss, gasping for air and turned her head so he could resume his sampling of her neck. Her hands were moving over him, teasing his nipples, scratching his back. He had finished undoing her pants and one hand slid inside them, covering her heat. His fingers slid within her and she moaned into his shoulder. Then his fingers were gone and he was standing. Her head swimming through the fog of desire she began to ask him what was wrong, but then he whisked her pants off and knelt on the bed. He pulled her up onto his thighs and kissed her hungrily again as his fingers returned to her and started a rhythm that had her muscles trembling. She stroked his length with both hands, her movements becoming jerky as she slipped closer to her climax.

She whined softly when he again withdrew his fingers, but then his hands encircled her waist as he lifted and positioned her. She was poised right above him, his tip pressing against her entrance. Her eyes met his and she marvelled anew at the passion there. Then he pulled her down hard as he thrust his hips up to collide with hers. She gasped at the impact and he looked at her with concern, but she smiled and shook her head, raising herself on him and lowering again. He made a small noise deep in his throat as his hands moved up to cover her breasts, teasing the tips through her clothes. His eyes never left hers and she fought to keep hers open. He was letting her control the pace of their joining, she started out slowly easing herself down on him as she grew accustomed to the stretched feeling of him within her. She began to speed up, but she was losing control as her release neared and he moved his hands to her waist, so he could lift her, keeping the rhythm she had started. She cried out with her orgasm, and let her head fall on his shoulder as she rode out the spasms. He turned his face into her neck, nibbling lightly with his lips before his fangs sank in, he continued the rhythm until he had his own release. Leaning against each other he licked her wound closed and she felt the tingle that came with vampire blood being applied to a wound.

She pulled her head back slowly and he kissed her. She could taste his blood on his tongue mingled with her own. He lowered them so they were lying facing each other, his kiss building towards more. With a sigh, she pushed away. "We have to go to work." she insisted. His hands were working their way up under her shirt.

"We will, eventually." He smiled wickedly at her as his hands continued under her shirt. He found the clasp on her bra and released it, his hands cupping her breasts.

She moaned softly, but tried to persist. "Really, Eric, we can do this later." her breath caught as he teased her nipples into hard peaks. "We _will_ do this later. But I've got to shower."

His eyes lit up and in a quick movement he was on his feet and she was in his arms as he headed toward the bathroom. "Excellent suggestion." he smiled at her before catching her mouth in a kiss. He didn't release her mouth until he set her down next to the shower. And finished removing her top and bra.

"I should shower alone, otherwise we will never get to work, or if I do I won't be able to walk." She smiled coyly up at him hoping he would relent. "Remember, you get to attack me tonight."

"And probably get my bar shut down." he countered seriously. He nodded towards the shower. "Turn on the water, I don't want to make it too hot." She realized, with this like with so many other things, it would be hard for a vampire to gauge things for a human.

She nodded, "In a minute, can I have a moment alone for some...human stuff?"

"Of course, I'll call Pam and let her know we'll be a little late." He smiled at her lustily before heading back to the bedroom. "I'll come back when I hear the shower." he added before closing the door.

Sookie quickly took care of her pressing human need, then took a quick look in the mirror. His bite marks were gone, which she felt was good since it would keep her temporary coworkers from being too jealous as well as make it look less like she would welcome an attack. She momentarily toyed with the idea of locking the bathroom door so she could take a quick shower, but she knew that if Eric wanted in it wouldn't stop him. Not that she wasn't going to enjoy a shower with Eric, she was just afraid she would be worn out before the night was out.

She started up the banks of showerheads and stepped into the spray. She expected Eric to appear instantly but he didn't. His conversation with Pam must be taking awhile. In fact, she was done shampooing her hair and he still hadn't shown. She found herself disappointed and rolled her eyes, wasn't she just hoping that she could shower alone? As she washed her body she let her hands glide over her skin, lingering in strategic places building her arousal. Eric was at the door almost instantly, the lust evident on his face.

"I thought you wanted to shower alone?" he asked walking slowly across the polished stone.

"I did, until you weren't here." She opened the glass door for him.

"All you had to do was call." he stood mere inches from her, towering over her.

"You got the message didn't you?" she brought her arms up around his neck, pulling his head down to meet her kiss.

It was a very long shower, but very enjoyable, even if by the end Sookie was shivering as the water had run cold. Eric noticing her goosebumps looked apologetic and toweled her dry briskly, which warmed her in more than one way. He pulled her in for a kiss but she covered his mouth with her hand.

"We really need to stop. The bar is too busy for just two waitresses, and it's going to take a while to try to find our guy." She was hoping he would relent, because she knew if he didn't she wouldn't have the willpower to argue.

His hand pressed her palm to his lips and he kissed it lightly before lowering it. "You're right. Go ahead and get made up. I'll get dressed." He left the bathroom and she sighed in mixed relief and disappointment.

Getting ready didn't take too long, she was getting familiar with the unusual, for her, make-up. She stuck her head out the door to ask Eric to pick out a dress for her but he wasn't in the bedroom. Wondering if he had left, she took the precaution of putting her shoes on before the dress, just in case they were all too tight to bend in. It was a good choice, all of Pam's selections seemed to be very binding.

Entering the living room she saw Eric there in a different outfit than he had worn the night before. He was again talking on the phone. She made her way quietly to the kitchen area and opened the refrigerator, taking out a yogurt from her meager grocery supplies she bought the day before. She didn't try to listen in on Eric's conversation as it wouldn't have done her any good, he was speaking what she figured was old Swedish, she assumed he was speaking to Pam.

His call ended just as she was finishing the yogurt. One corner of his mouth was curled up as if he were enjoying a private joke. She gave him a curious look but he just shook his head to say it wasn't important.

Shrugging she asked, "Had you brought a change of clothes?" indicating his outfit.

"No, I flew over to Fangtasia and changed, put in an appearance so it wouldn't look like we arrived together and went back to my office. I don't think anyone saw me leave."

"That was good thinking."

"You never told me what Claudine had to say." he prompted.

"When did I have a chance?" She asked, eyebrows raised. He grinned. "She didn't know of anyone missing, but will keep looking. She said it seemed like someone was stirring up hatred for vamps, but she hadn't been able to trace it back to anyone in particular."

"Hmm, well there is hatred there to be stirred up, and I imagine that for some of the younger fairies there is resentment that we can reveal ourselves to the world while they have to remain hidden."

"Just the younger ones?" She asked curiously.

"The older ones remember when they were not so hidden and those times had a great deal of peril for the fae. Not only from vampires but from humans as well."

"You seem to know a lot about them."

"Know your enemy." he shrugged. "There is an influential fairy I have had dealings with in the past. He has always contacted me, but I can see if I can contact him."

"How do I look?" she turned for him.

"Good enough to eat, although I prefer you as you usually are." He offered her his hand. "Shall I fly us there?"

"In this dress?" It had a long skirt that was tight down to her knees, below that it flared a bit, but she would be taking tiny steps all night. Pam obviously did not rate practicality high in her judgement of suitable clothes. "Besides, my hair would be a mess by the time we got there. Is your car here?"

"No, I flew here last night. I'll fly back to the club, let myself be seen before you get there." He gave her a quick kiss and headed to a sliding glass door. She grabbed his hand.

"I don't smell like Claudine anymore, right?" She knew that was tempting fate but she really didn't want to go to a vampire club with any hint of fairy about her.

Smiling, he stood in front of her and buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply. He let his lips lightly brush her skin and she trembled. He straightened slowly, as if it were taking a lot of willpower. "No fairy, just you."

"Good, I'll be there soon."

He slid open the glass door and stepped out into what appeared to be a rooftop garden. He turned to close the door, but paused just before it was completely shut. "Oh, by the way, Pam will be the one attacking you tonight." His eyes twinkled with mischief and then he was gone.

Sookie stood with her mouth hanging open for a full thirty seconds, staring at the glass. That must have been what the old Swedish phone conversation was about. Why the change in plan? She shook her head to bring her out of the shock. Okay if she can find the guy, and she was pretty sure it was a guy's thoughts she had heard, then it became moot.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry this took so long, really busy on my work trip and lousy internet connection. I hope you like.

Nothing is mine. (Except this particular plot)

Chapter 12

Sookie pulled into Fangtasia's parking lot, she had decided to enter from the front so she could try to talk to Pam, but Indira was at the door. As she nodded to the small vampire, and went to hurry inside, Indira stepped in front of her. "You are late. Pam said you are to get straight to work once you get here."

"Yes ma'am." Sookie gave her a quick bow and hurried through the throng inside the bar. It was almost eight and the place was crowded. Quickly stowing her purse and grabbing a black apron and order pad she worked her way onto the floor. She saw Leanna at a distance and waved at her trying to look apologetic for getting in so late.

She started taking orders and trying to read the customers in small groups, not dropping her blocks too far. She seemed to be handling it pretty well and thought it must have been in part due to the heightened senses she always felt after some vampire blood. She looked around for Pam, but didn't see her at all which just made her more nervous. Glancing at Eric's throne she saw that he was texting something a slight smile on his face. He looked up while she was looking at him and he winked. She rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled, before turning his attention back to his phone.

When she finally ran into Leanna at the bar she started to gush an apology but the waitress stopped her. "Don't worry hun, it happens to all of us. Did they end up towing your car?"

Wishing that someone had filled her in to the official story as to why she was late she shook her head. "No, he was able to fix it. I'm just glad my Daddy always buys me the auto club membership every year."

"Yeah, these clothes aren't made for changing tires." Leanna looked down at her own impractical dress.

"Have you seen Pam?" Sookie asked glancing around. "I hope she isn't really mad at me."

"She and Eric were meeting earlier, he came out but she stayed in the office I think. But last time I saw her she didn't look mad. If anything she looked happy."

Not really sure a

Sookie wasn't really sure what to think of that but finished arranging her orders on her tray. "Okay, well I'll try to talk to her later." She picked up her tray and went to deliver her orders.

She worked different areas of the floor, trying to catch any stray thought that wasn't the usual stream of lust. But so far she hadn't picked up anything and it had been almost three and a half hours. She was getting jumpy too, expecting Pam to attack her at any moment. Near midnight, Eric stood and began pacing on his dias. A wave of appreciation rippled through many of the females and a few of the males in the club. Then she sensed an intense guilt and self-loathing coming from the area between her and the door. She headed that way taking drink orders. She said softly hoping Eric could hear her over the noise. "Eric, I think he's here, tell Pam to wait a little." She didn't want to lose him in the commotion. She glanced towards the throne but he was standing facing the other way, she had no idea if he heard her or not.

Heading in the direction she thought the strange thoughts were coming from, she let down her blocks little by little. She thought she had lost him, then she picked up a strong stream of thoughts. _Stop looking at him! You're not a fag or a fangbanger! You're a good, upstanding christian. You are going to find a sweet girl and settle down! Oh Lord, give me strength, take these sinful thoughts from __me. Why does he have to be so magnificent? Stop it! Stop it, you're not here to look at that vampire. You are doing your duty as a Soldier of God. You will stay here, and not look at that vampire, but wait for an attack and report back._

Sookie was finally able to find him physically as well as mentally. His head was turned partly away from Eric, but his eyes were transfixed. He was in his mid twenties, with dark brown hair and a nice tan. He looked like he must hit the gym pretty regularly. He was standing on the periphery of a larger group, and he almost looked like he was with them, but his demeanor was different. He had a studied casualness that was betrayed by his sweating. She went up to the group and asked for orders. He ordered a club soda, nodding at the group. "Designated driver." he said ruefully.

"Good for you, this will be on the house." she smiled sweetly at him and gave him a full view of her cleavage which he didn't even glance at. Yeah, he's not gay, she thought sarcastically. She took the orders to the bar then worked her way up near the throne.

She finally caught Eric's eye and said softly. "I found him, he's part of the Fellowship of the Sun." Eric nodded slightly and she continued. "He's by that group, third table in from the door. I'll serve him last. He's attracted to you, but he refuses to admit he's gay." Eric's lips curled slightly.

She went back to the bar, somewhat more relaxed, now that she found him Pam didn't need to attack her. She collected her orders from the bar and delivered them all making sure to serve the spy last. Halfway through handing him his drink, he went slack, glancing at Eric she could see he was putting the whammy on him. Sookie smiled and took the drink back. Eric motioned that the man should come to him and then headed to his office, the man dazedly followed.

Sookie searched the crowd and found Leanna then made her way over to the senior waitress. "Hi, I know I came in late and all, but do I still get a break tonight?" she asked with a hopeful look.

"Sure honey, although you always wait until pretty late."

"I know I was trying to tough it out, but I bought a big soda while I was waiting for the auto guy and now I am regretting it."

Leanna chuckled in sympathy.

Sookie headed to the back, which fortunately was the same direction as Eric's door was closed so she knocked lightly and let herself in. The man was seated on the couch and Eric was perched on the short table in front of it, their eyes were locked.

"I'm on a break." she said softly, Eric nodded but did not break eye contact.

"Alex," he began, he had obviously gotten that much information. "Why are you here tonight?"

"To wait and watch." Alex replied dreamily.

"Watch for what?"

"A vampire to attack someone." he said it as if it were obvious.

"Do you know why a vampire might attack someone?"

"Something in the make-up."

"Do you know what?" Sookie sat down beside Alex and placed her hand on his wrist. He didn't even look down. She slid into his mind easily.

"No. Some science guy came to us and said he knew of a way to drive vamps crazy." Sookie could see Alex's view of the exchange, he was obviously not one of the people in the know, it looked like he had been working in the office when the "science guy" had come in. He was dressed in business slacks and a short sleeve button shirt. He was in his forties and looked bitter. He was talking to someone Sookie vaguely remembered from Dallas, Alex was filing papers.

"Do you know the science guy's name?" Eric was trying to be patient, but the short answers were annoying him.

"Dr. Taggert, but I don't think he is the type of doctor who treats sick people."

"Why do you say that?"

"He works in some factory."

Eric and Sookie exchanges glances, that could be the source of the make-up. "Do you know which factory?" Eric prodded.

"No, I just heard him refer to the factory." Sookie looked into his head but found no further information and shook her head.

"Alex, what were your exact instructions they gave you for coming here?"

"Keep my eyes open. Blend in. Watch for attacks and try to record them. Watch out for the blonde."

"What blond, me?" Eric asked , but Sookie shook her head, she saw a picture of herself in his mind. It was obviously taken in Merlotte's but she had never seen it before. Sookie pointed at herself. Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Some girl, she's a mind-reader. I'm supposed to stay away from her because she would be able to find out why I am here."

"Do you have any other instructions regarding the blonde?"

"Report it if I see her, but don't try to capture her. She's protected by vamps."

"Alright Alex, you've done well. In a moment you are going to go to sleep until I wake you. While you are asleep you won't be able to hear or see anything, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Okay, sleep now." Like that, Alex fell over onto his side.

Eric stood and walked towards his desk, Sookie followed. Turning so they were half facing Alex they spoke in hushed tones.

"Well we know a lot more." Sookie started.

"Yes, what worries me is the warning about you." Eric ran a hand through his hair.

"They have a picture of me, it was taken at Merlotte's so they know where I work, probably where I live." The idea gave her the creeps, but didn't really surprise her.

"How does this Dr. Taggert know about fairy blood driving vamps crazy? Does he know it is fairy blood even?" Eric asked.

"I don't know. This guy doesn't though. In fact, I think we were lucky he knows as much as he does." She glanced at her watch. "I better get back on the floor. What are you going to do with him?" She glanced at Alex.

"Make him forget we had this talk and send him on his way."

"Okay, see you later." She ducked out the door.

In a couple of minutes, Alex came back and resumed his spot at the periphery of the large group. She brought him his club soda as if nothing had happened. She saw Eric reappear a few minutes later.

The crowd was thinning out, but it was still busy. So Sookie had a full tray of drinks when Pam whirled her around. The drinks went flying and Sookie had just a second to see Pam's face closing in on her throat before she could feel Pam's mouth against her neck. Since she had assumed that the attack was off after they had found the guy they were looking for, it took her completely by surprise. Sookie screamed and was sure the fear on her face looked real, because it was. The fear she had felt from Pam's attack two nights ago, came back in full force and she realized maybe she was not as over it as she thought. She saw flashes going off around her and assumed a lot of the customers were taking pictures.

Most of the customers were running out of the bar, but two brave guys tried to pull Pam off her. Pam was able to completely ignore them as they pulled with all their strength. As fangs sank into Sookie's throat she screamed louder. She hadn't expected Pam to really bite her. Then she heard Eric shout "Pam!" and she felt the same sense of relief as before.

"Go!" he ordered the men trying to pull Pam away. One look at the ferocity on Eric's face and they let go of her and stepped back. He pulled on Pam's arm. Her teeth left Sookie's throat and she turned, hissing at him. Eric backhanded her hard and she went flying across the room, knocking tables and chairs out of her path. She landed a good 15 feet away in a motionless heap. "Out!" he yelled at the crowd as he turned and swept Sookie up into his arms. She put her hand to her neck and shrank against him as he carried her to his office. She got a glimpse of Alex backing away, holding up a camera. She was hoping no one at the Fellowship would recognize her.

Once inside with the door closed he set her gently on the couch. "Are you alright?" he asked brushing her hair out of her eyes. ""I can feel your fear."

She nodded shakily, "I'm okay. I think it was too soon after Pam really attacked me the other night, it was like really bad deja-vu." She brought her hand away from her neck and looked at the blood there. "And I wasn't expecting her to really bite me."

Eric tilted her head so he could see the wound. "Well, the plan had been for me to bite you, and we wanted it to look real." His fangs clicked down, Sookie forced herself not to jump, then he bit his tongue, hard, so it was bleeding.

"Ouch." she said in sympathy. He grinned slightly as he moved in to her neck and licked the wound. She felt the same tingle as earlier in the evening and realized this must have been how he healed her then. After thoroughly licking the bite he continued to lick all of the blood off her neck, down to the top of her dress. Her heart was starting to race again, but not from fear, when he pulled his head away.

"Won't the police wonder what happened to the blood?" she asked, her voice husky.

"We don't want it to look real to them, or Pam will be in jail for who knows how long." He picked up a bottle of True Blood off the floor and opened it. "We are going to convince them it was a stunt, since business actually picked up after the last attack. That will probably still get us a big fine and closed for a couple of nights but not indefinitely. Lean your head back over." He held up the bottle to apply some to her neck.

She shifted so her neck was exposed and almost parallel to the floor. He let the thick liquid drizzle out onto her skin, she gasped as it hit her. "Oh, that's cold!"

"Sorry, I didn't think about the temperature." He put down the bottle and stood.

She went to stand but her legs were a little wobbly. He immediately steadied her. "You're really shaken aren't you?" Concern was evident on his face.

"Please don't tell Pam. It was just too real after the other night." She straightened and put a brave face on, fighting against her crazy smile. "Tell me why we still wanted to get the bar closed after we found the guy."

Eric reached for the door, opening it as he explained. "If their plan appears to be getting results here they may not pack up shop and try elsewhere. Also it will keep any more accidents from happening here." His voice lowered seductively, "But most importantly it will give us more time together."

They walked back into the bar area, to find it a mess and Pam talking to the police. Leanna and Lily were sitting at the same table as the night of the real attack, but this time Indira was sitting with them and a quick peek into their thoughts told her that they had been glamored. She wondered what the official story was going to be and wished she had asked Eric for more details.

Pam turned when she heard them approaching. "Here you are officers, you can see she is fine." She held her arm out to indicate Sookie, like she was a prize in a game show.

Tonight there were only two officers, neither were the same as the other night. They both looked at her intensely, their eyes going directly to the apparent blood on her neck, although both let their eyes travel lower for an instant. The older of the two addressed her. "Are you alright miss?"

"Yes, officer, I'm not hurt at all." She said wide-eyed, in her best dumb-blonde voice.

"What about the blood?" The officer gestured with the pen he was using to take notes.

"This? It's just True Blood." She lightly put a finger to the viscous liquid and held it out for them. The older officer gingerly touched his finger to hers, to pick up a little of it. He smelled it and rubbed his fingers together then nodded to the other officer.

He looked at Eric. "Is there a place where we can talk to this woman alone?"

"Of course, you can use my office. She can show you." he nodded at Sookie.

"Sure, come this way." She started to lead the cops away, wishing again that she and Eric had gone over their story better. As she walked, she peeked into the officers' minds. They were mulling over Pam's story that this was all a publicity thing, they had doubted it at first but seeing her looking okay they were starting to believe it. But that didn't make them happy, they thought it was a stupid stunt to pull, and thought anyone who came here must have a death wish. They weren't anti-vamp as a rule, but they weren't real fans either.

She opened the office door and gestured for them to enter, they insisted she enter first so she went in and sat on the couch. They followed her into the room and closed the door.

"Can you tell us what happened miss?" Their pens were poised ready to take notes.

"Well Eric, Mr. Northman, asked me if I would do him a favor, he was short a waitress, so I said sure. Then, when they saw how big a crowd was here last night after the attack the night before, he asked if I would do a little play acting. It sounded like fun. So tonight, close to closing, Pam pretended to attack me, so I screamed and acted scared." She shrugged to emphasize it was no big deal.

They were busy writing, she grabbed some tissues from the box. "Is it okay if I wipe this off now?" she indicated the fake blood, "It's kind of sticky."

"Of course." the older officer said. She started wiping at the blood which ran down to the top of, and into her dress. She lowered her head to watch her hand. And could tell by dipping into their minds that they were watching her hand as well. Good, she thought, distracted is good.

"Your name miss."

"Well, the other waitresses think I'm Desirée, but my name is really Sookie, Sookie Stackhouse."

"Why don't they know your real name?" That, unfortunately, got their suspicions up.

"They're very jealous of me, 'cause Eric likes me. So I thought it would be easier to work here if they didn't know it was me."

"And they don't recognize you?" He looked skeptical.

"Oh heavens no. I never dress like this." She looked down at herself. "I'm a sundress or jeans kind of girl and I hardly ever wear make-up. I hardly recognize me." She looked suddenly concerned. "Am I in trouble?"

The older officer sat down on the couch facing her, trying to look fatherly. "That's what we want to know." He looked her straight in the eye. "Miss Stackhouse, did anyone force you to do anything you didn't want to?"

"No." She purposely looked confused.

"The vampires aren't making you do this? They aren't threatening you? Because if they are we can protect you."

"No, they aren't threatening me. Really, I just did this as a favor." She looked a little scared, "Are you going to arrest me?"

"No, you're not under arrest." he assured her, patting her hand.

"Eric's not in trouble, is he? Nobody got hurt. Or Pam? She didn't hurt me."

"I'll have to talk to them before we make a decision. You're sure you're alright? The other witnesses were convinced that it was a real attack."

"Really? I didn't know I was such a good actress." She looked flattered. "Can I go now?" She looked from one to the other.

"Yes, you can go, please send Mr. Northman in." He bent his head to make a few more notes. He was thinking that this was no more than yelling fire in a crowded theatre. He was a little relieved that he wouldn't have to try to apprehend vampires.

"Sure, I'll send him right in." She stood and walked to the door, leaving it open behind her. As soon as she thought she was far enough away. She started whispering, "Eric, I told them my real name, since there would be no record of Desirée. I told them I was working here to fill in as a favor and was willing to do the fake attack as another. The reason I gave for giving my fake name was because the other waitresses are jealous of me and you." By this time she had reached the main room, he smiled and nodded at her which she took to mean he had heard her, she said out loud. "Master, they would like to talk to you."

"Thank you Desirée." He walked by her and into the back. She went and sat at the table with the other waitresses, Indira was no longer there.

Leanna spoke first. "You're a really good actress Desirée. I really believed Pam was attacking you." She looked impressed. Lily was nodding her head in agreement.

"Thanks, I just imagined what it would be like to really be attacked by someone as strong as Pam." Pam who was sitting at a table behind the regular waitresses, smiled and suppressed a chuckle, Sookie suppressed a shiver at the flashback.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Lily asked.

"The Master wanted it to be a surprise to everyone so they would react to it as if it were real." She leaned in conspiratorially and whispered. "I wanted to tell you, really."

"Why did they pick you to do it?" Leanna sounded a little jealous.

"Didn't I tell you? I guess we haven't had a lot of time to talk. I'm an actress, I'm just working as a waitress until I hit it big. I told that to Pam during the interview."

"Have you acted in anything yet?" Lily asked.

"Some school plays. I am trying out for something next week." She was hoping Eric hurried, she was getting tired of making stuff up.

"Do you think it would be okay if I went to the bathroom?" She asked them. "I'm still sticky from the True Blood."

"Sure, we'll let them know where you are." Lily offered.

"Thanks." She got up and walked to the restroom. Since she hadn't gone earlier she took advantage of the facilities, but then had to work herself back into the dress. She went to the sink with the plan to wash off the blood, but looking in the mirror, she realized her tan was already visible in places where the make-up had worn off. She didn't want to expose anymore of it, at least not to Leanna, who was getting suspicious. She cast her mind out into the bar and realized the police were back out in the main room. She figured she better get out there.

Returning quietly, she sat back down at the table and tried to look bored. Eric and the officers were standing near the entrance talking. They all looked very serious. She glanced at Pam, she was obviously listening from across the room.

The officers handed Eric a citation. He accepted it calmly, a wave of relief washed over the police, they nodded a goodbye and left.

Sookie didn't realize she had been holding her breath until she released it. Eric came and spoke to the waitresses as a group. "Unfortunately, the police did not like our idea of publicity. They are shutting us down for a week. You'll be paid your normal salary for the time missed. Pam will send you your schedules for when we reopen. You may go home now." Leanna and Lily looked upset. Sookie knew their salary was only a fraction of their income, they would be really hurting without the tips. She stood to go, but Eric added, "Desirée, please stay."

"Yes Master." She said with a deep bow and sat down again. Waving good-bye to the other waitresses. Eric then gestured to Pam and they went to the other side of the room to talk. Sookie remained in her seat looking bored for the sake of her temporary coworkers. They came back out from the locker area and bowed to Eric and Pam on the way out.

Once they were gone the vampires joined her at the table.

"Sookie you were great." Eric effused.

"Tasty too." Pam added and Sookie tried to chuckle naturally.

"Well, thank you. What did the police say?" She looked at Eric.

"There's a fine in addition to being closed for a week, but it's not that big. It's better than them hauling Pam off to the vampire unit, which was a risk."

"I still don't know why you guys switched it so it was Pam who attacked me and not you." She looked at Eric and let her gaze move between them.

"I didn't think anyone would believe that I could pull Eric off you, which I couldn't." Pam supplied.

"That makes sense, I hadn't thought about how to end the attack. I'm glad you didn't get arrested." She looked at Pam with a slight smile.

"Me too." Pam stood, "Good night you two. I know you're anxious to leave. But Sookie, anytime you get tired of Eric and want to try the other perspective, let me know." She winked and Sookie blushed, totally at a loss for words.

Pam chuckled, apparently that was the reaction she was expecting, then walked out the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks to all of you who are enjoying this story and sending in reviews. It is encouraging me to fight with the lousy internet connection here to try to keep posting.

Again, just this particular plotline is mine. Everything else belongs to Charlaine Harris.

Chapter 13 History

As soon as Pam was gone Sookie put her face in her hands, trembling slightly. Eric crouched by her. "Let's get you back to the apartment. Do you want me to drive?" She nodded and stood carefully. Now that she didn't have to act anymore she felt drained and shaky.

"I'll get my purse." she said as she began untying the apron. "If I leave this on the bar, can somebody take care of it?"

"Here, I'll take it." He did and moved behind the bar as she walked back to the lockers.

He was at her side as soon as she emerged from the back. "Can you walk? I could carry you." he offered.

She shook her head, "No, I can make it. I just wish I had remembered to bring comfortable shoes to wear home."

He put an arm around her waist and she leaned against him as they walked out the door into the night. "I'll massage your feet when we get back."

"Mmm, that will be nice." Suddenly her cellphone rang within her purse and she jumped before fishing it out. She looked briefly at the screen and noticed it was from Claudine and that there were several missed calls.

"Hello Claudine." She said as she answered it, Eric looked down at her with his eyebrows raised in question.

"No, I'm fine. It was just the fake attack I told you about. I'm fine." a pause, then, "I was just really startled that's all."

"I'll meet you tomorrow, promise."... "No. I'm with Eric right now, I'll see you tomorrow, I'm safe, I promise."... "Goodnight."

"Does she sense your fear?" Eric asked as she went to tuck the phone back in her purse, but at his question pulled it out again.

"I guess so, doesn't everyone? It must come with the fairy godmother job description." Looking at her phone she sighed, there were several calls from Bill, she thought he was traveling for his database again. "I'll meet with her tomorrow, tell her what we found out about the Fellowship." She showed Eric the call log. "I better call Bill or he'll be breaking down the door."

He nodded "Keys?" Eric held out his hand as they approached her car.

She dug through her purse and handed them to him. He opened her door for her and she slid into the seat. He had a bit more trouble folding himself into the driver's seat behind the wheel and had to move the seat all the way back. As they drove she called Bill and assured him she was fine.

"No one is forcing you to say that are they?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, I'm working for Eric, trying to track down some drainers. But I'm good."

"This is the third time in three days that you have been that frightened. He is putting you in too much danger." She could almost see him puffing his chest out.

"Bill, I'm a big girl. I know the risks and I make my own decisions." His over-protective attitude really grated on her nerves now that she was no longer completely enamored with him.

"Put Eric on." He demanded.

"No, I will not. If you have a problem with me you will talk with me. I'm calling the shots here." Eric was grinning, listening to the conversation, she knew he could hear both sides.

"Sookie, Eric would have no qualms risking your life to serve his ends. He..."

"Good night Bill!" She hit the button to end the call and wished there was someway to slam a cellphone.

"Don't say a word." She warned Eric, she had gone from frazzled to furious within a minute.

He looked wide-eyed and innocent as if he didn't know what she meant and she rolled her eyes at him.

Then his phone rang, He took it out of his pocket with a wide smile. "Northman". She knew it was Bill.

After a brief pause, "She's fine, do you think she's lying to you? Don't you trust her?", his smile could almost split his head in half. Sookie knew that somehow during this conversation Eric was going to make it known to Bill that she was his now. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I knew you didn't trust me." Eric said after a brief pause. "As Sookie said, she's been making all the plans here, I've always cautioned her when I thought something was dangerous. But I trust her enough to know what she is capable of and I have never tried to hold her back."

She could just barely hear Bill's voice but couldn't make out any of the words, she could tell he was furious. Eric's voice when he replied was calm, which she bet infuriated Bill all the more. "Bill, the women of your time might have been brainless bits of fluff, but my folk had respect for our women and knew they were strong." He glanced at Sookie admiringly, "Sookie is much more a warrior woman than a southern belle. I'm surprised you haven't learned that yet." Sookie smiled at him, a little flustered at the praise. Another pause as Bill vented. Eric's face became serious. "You can not protect her by keeping her in the dark about our world now that you have introduced her to it and it to her. Nor is that what she wants." After a shorter pause, Eric, obviously cutting Bill off, said flatly. "I let Sookie decide what is good for her, as I have always suggested, you should do the same. Goodnight Bill." he hung up the phone.

"You didn't tell him." Sookie said softly.

"About us?" Eric asked glancing at her as he pulled into the parking lot.

She nodded.

"That would have led to another argument, lots of posturing and him coming here to fight for you. He's mad enough for tonight." Expertly pulling into a space he turned off the car, which sputtered back. He was out of the car and holding open her door in a blink. As he offered her his hand he added, "Besides, I knew it would embarrass you and probably piss you off. Neither of which are moods I wanted for tonight." He wrapped his arms around her waist as she stood, bending to kiss her tenderly.

"Good thinking." she breathed, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. He swung her up into his arms, like Rhett and Scarlet.

"I said I can walk."

"We're not walking." He smiled and launched himself into the air. Her arms tightened instinctively around his neck, but the ride was over almost as soon as it began. They were on the penthouse patio. It was lovely, it had a small table grouping and some lounges, but most impressive were the massive planters filled with a variety of flowers, all blooming white. The smell of jasmine filled the air. He set her down gently.

"Eric, this is beautiful." She moved to admire the flowers.

"Not many flowers bloom at night, and they aren't very colorful, but it is a small bit of beauty that we appreciate all the more." He came up behind her and bent to kiss her neck. He nibbled near Pam's bite, then lifted his head. "You are still covered in True Blood." He murmured with a look of distaste.

"I was going to wash it off at the bar, but my tan was already poking through and I think Leanna is getting suspicious."

"It probably doesn't matter now that the bar is closed for a week." He took her hand, and gave a slight tug in the direction of the apartment.

She followed him, hand in hand, he led them back to the bathroom. To her surprise the large tub was filled with water, she could tell by the humidity in the room that the water was hot. She looked from the tub to him, "How?"

"The apartment is state of the art. I can control quite a bit of it remotely. When I realized how stressed you were I started the tub so it would be ready when we got here. Otherwise it takes forever to fill." He turned her to face him, put a finger under her chin to lift her head for a kiss and then his hand drifted down to begin unbuttoning her dress. She undid his belt, then his pants, they were both moving slowly, savoring each moment. She worked his shirt up, caressing his back as she did. He broke off the kiss to pull the shirt over his head. Then worked her arms out of the sleeves. As he turned his attention to the fastener on her skirt his cell phone rang.

He ignored it but it continued to ring and Sookie pulled back. "It might be important." She slid her fingers into his pocket and pulled out the phone. "It's Pam." She said as she looked at the screen.

He took the phone unhappily. "It better be important." He said with a rueful smile. "Yes?" His voice did not sound patient. He sighed, and gestured that he would be a minute, before heading through the door to the bedroom. She could hear his voice through the door although she couldn't make out the words. He was keeping his responses short, probably trying to end the conversation.

She finished undressing and hung the dress back up. She was about to step into the tub, when she realized that the make-up, temporary hair dye and True Blood would make a mess of the water, So she turned on the shower and stepped in to rinse off. That took less than a minute, but she had expected Eric to be back by now, which he wasn't. She spread a towel out in front of her so she wouldn't leave a wet trail from the shower to the tub, padded over and slid into the hot water. It was heavenly, she wondered how to get the jets working and glanced around, then spied the control panel on the wall within reach of the tub. Reaching over she set them to the first setting and immediately they began to shoot. She relaxed onto one of the formed seats and the jets were in the perfect position for all her stress and pains. Leaning back she let the water take away all the tension.

She was not aware that she had drifted asleep until she realized that Eric was across from her in the tub massaging her feet. She forced her eyes open and smiled at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just so relaxed. That feels wonderful." She added nodding at her feet.

"Then I won't stop, yet." He looked to the side of the tub where a champagne chiller sat. "Would you like some champagne?"

"Yes, please." He lifted the champagne from the ice and began to open it.

"Eric, that's way too expensive for me. I'll probably only drink one glass, maybe two." She protested when she saw the label.

"Nothing is too expensive for you, I know you have always had to be frugal and manage your money, but at this point in time I can afford indulgences, and if I wish to indulge you I can do that too." When she opened her mouth to continue to protest he popped the cork, and began pouring her a flute. "Now that it's open, it would be more wasteful for you not to drink it." He held out the glass to her which she took reluctantly.

"Thank you." She said more subdued, she took a sip.

He moved back to sitting across from her and resumed massaging her foot. He looked at her curiously, "Are you angry?"

"No, maybe. I just..." she didn't know how to put it in words all the conflicted thoughts she was feeling.

"If you think, I am thinking that I can buy your affections with fancy things, I don't." That was a big part of what was bothering her.

"No?" she sounded skeptical.

"If you were a gold-digger you would have dropped Bill for me the first night we met in Fangtasia. Or at the very least you would have profited more from your relationship with Bill before moving on to me. But you still work to support yourself and still drive a piece of shit car." When she looked offended he quickly added. "You are beholden to none, tell me, do you even have a balance on your credit cards?"

"No." Gran had only used credit cards in a real emergency, like if their car broke down, they lived too far out to go without a vehicle, but other than that she wouldn't buy something if she couldn't afford it at the moment. Sookie had strived to live the same way. She took another sip, more to keep from having to speak than to savor the champagne.

He nodded, with a smile of satisfaction. "As I said to Bill, you are more like a viking woman than a southern belle."

"I thought vikings were all about pillaging and ..." she let it trail off. She didn't want to say it.

"Raping?" He looked grim, "Most often when we went out, it was for trade, but we would go raiding, or to war. If we conquered an area, part of that conquering would be raping the women and sometimes the men, it showed our power, our complete control over them. But at that time, that was a part of war, not only for us but for most of Europe. On a raid, we took slaves, thralls, they were our property, women thralls often became concubines. But _our_ women were treated well. You looked for a wife who could manage your land and household while you were gone for months at a time. She would have to make sure your slaves worked and didn't run away, get the crops harvested and set enough in stores for winter, in addition to raising the children, weaving, making clothes and so many other things I can't name." He shook his head, "Upper class women from Bill's time made a show of how delicate they were. No, give me a woman who knows her own mind and can take care of her own." He looked at her admiringly.

"I think there is a compliment in there. Thank you." She said slowly and looked at her champagne.

Eric released her foot and glided over to her. He lifted her chin so he could look her in the eye. "Have I upset you? I wasn't going to lie to you. I don't lie to you. I can't always tell you everything, especially about vampire matters, but if I tell you something it is true." He looked at her with sadness, "You know there are many terrible things in my past. Things that would horrify you. Please don't ask me about them if you don't want to know. I don't want to drive you away by something that happened a thousand years ago, or a hundred years ago or even ten years ago. Throughout history we have lived on the fringes of your world, as predators. It is how we had to survive and it was all we knew. I can't change any of that."

She looked in his eyes, and saw the fear that she would hate him over the truth. "I know, and I shouldn't have asked. You were born into a different world." She dropped her eyes. "But you don't... you haven't...?" She couldn't finish, because this answer might make her recoil from him, but she had to know.

"Are you trying to ask if I carry on my viking ways now?" He asked softly.

She nodded, afraid to speak or look into his eyes.

He shifted to sit beside her, not touching her. "It has been a very long time, since I have behaved so barbarously." He stared ahead and appeared to be looking back through the years. "In the early years after I was made, I raped and killed, usually simultaneously, because the hungers are so strong, and that was what my maker taught me, how he hunted. Later, as I ventured out on my own, I learned I could survive on less blood so I would glamor victims, take a little blood and hide the attack, then the less damage you caused the less you had to hide. So it was easier to hide my true nature if I only fed. It also allowed me to stay in one place longer and actually have a home. I still couldn't stay too long in one area, because people would notice I only was about at night, or that I didn't age. But in any city there is always an element that keeps to the night, mostly thieves and prostitutes, other criminals. It was always easy to blend in there since they didn't ask many questions." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back onto the side of the tub. She turned her head to study his profile. "I didn't have trouble finding willing women to slake my sexual appetite. I could pay a prostitute or find a woman who found me attractive. I would glamor them into forgetting I drank from them, but I wouldn't glamor them into my bed."

"If you hadn't in so long, why were you afraid you might have when you were staying with me?"

"I wasn't sure of what I'd become during that time. If I'd regressed to how I was when I was first turned, it was very likely that I could have. If I had become as I was before I was turned, then it would have been a grave offense to violate your hospitality with such an act." He shrugged, "I have been many different men in my long existence, most of them very dangerous."

"That first night I came into Fangtasia with Bill, you tried to glamor me. Why?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"To get you to leave Bill and come to me. If you had, I would not have kept you glamored." He turned his head and looked at her so she could see the truth in his eyes.

"But why me? The bar was full of people who wanted you."

"Do you own a mirror?" He asked, turning in his seat to face her. He slowly lifted a hand to her face, watching her every reaction. When she didn't shrink back, he let his hand cover her cheek. "You are beautiful." She blushed and began to protest but he shook his head. "I don't know how you were treated, or who told you you weren't, but you are. You're beautiful and brave and clever and earnest."

"You didn't just want me because Bill had me?"

"Hardly, Bill had brought other women to Fangtasia before you and they didn't warrant a second glance." His thumb stroked her cheek. "Why can't you believe I want you for you?"

"I don't know." She looked away from the intensity in his eyes.

"Are you trying to come up with a reason to end our relationship?" He asked softly.

Her eyes darted back to his and she could see a wariness and weariness there. "No!" she denied quickly, but slowly added, "But maybe I'm storing up reasons for why it had to end when it does, so it won't hurt so bad."

He pulled his hand away from her cheek and smacked the water. "Damn Compton!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "Every time I see how much he hurt you I want to give him the true death." His eyes were fierce, a storm brewing in their blue depths.

"Eric, no, don't hurt him, please. I don't want anyone else hurt on account of me. I just walked into that relationship so naïve and innocent, that I was bound to be hurt by it." Her eyes were filling with tears, she chuckled weakly. "If I were a normal girl I would have had several failed relationships by now and it wouldn't have hurt so bad." A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.

Eric moved in, softly catching the tear with a kiss. "You're more than a normal girl." he murmured against her cheek, as his hand came up to brush the hair back from her face. He pulled back so he could look her in the eye. "I have lived for a thousand years and I have never met anyone like you."

She blushed and smiled weakly at him, a lump in her throat. Another tear escaped, followed by another, he caught both as he did the first, then tenderly kissed her mouth. Pulling away slightly, so she could end it if she wanted to, but she leaned towards him, seeking out his mouth with hers. When their lips met he deepened the kiss, his hand moved, becoming entangled in the hair at the back of her head as he pulled her to him. She slid off the seat and wrapped one arm around his waist, with the other she was blindly trying to put the champagne flute safely on the side of the tub, without success. She made a noise of frustration and broke of the kiss. He looked startled and wary.

"It's okay, I just don't want to break the glass." She said at the question in his eyes and she turned to place the delicate glass on the floor.

"Drink it." he encouraged. "You don't want to be wasteful, do you?" His eyes teasing.

She rolled her eyes, but finished the champagne in the glass. Setting it down she turned back to him. "There, frugal like a good viking woman." She slid her arms behind his head, pulling him in for a kiss. She realized in the water, the height difference wasn't an issue.

"A woman after my own heart." He murmured a second before their lips met hungrily. The kiss was intense, each pouring all their feelings into it. His hands trailed down her back to capture her butt, pulling her close against him, his gracious plenty growing between them. She rubbed against him and he moaned softly. She ran her fingers over his back, digging her nails in as his fingers followed the curve of her rear and slipped between her legs.

She wrapped her legs around him, buoyant in the water. The long fingers of one hand came under her leg to tease her opening, his other hand he brought to her breasts, his fingertips gliding over her skin. Her nipples hardened under his touch and she writhed against him. As she broke off the kiss to breathe, he kissed along her jaw back to her ear, which he gently nibbled, sending goosebumps across her flesh and fire to her core.

He moved them back slightly, until she was resting against the slanted seat built into the side of the tub, the jets pounding the small of her back. Kissing his way down her neck, he paused at the pulse point to lightly nip the skin there. She gasped and braced herself for his bite but he continued moving lower. He held both breasts in his hands, his mouth covered a nipple, biting it lightly and teasing it with his tongue. As he moved lower, there was less of him she could reach, but she ran her fingers through his hair and her feet stroked the back of his thighs.

He kissed his way down her belly, which took his head underwater, he went lower, until he was nuzzling the nest of curls just above her entrance. She trembled with need at the touch and had to grasp the edge of the tub to steady herself. He trailed kisses to her nether lips and parted them with his tongue. She moaned, and expected him to surface when it occurred to her that vampires don't have to breathe.

It was a strange feeling, her muscles had relaxed in the hot, churning water, while the wonderful things his mouth was doing were causing a delightful tension to build. It was almost as if the vampire and the hot tub were working at cross purposes. The result was an incredibly slow climb to the precipice of release, despite the intense pleasure Eric was invoking. When his fingers entered her and started thrusting she was sure she would go mad if she didn't come soon. Then he curled his fingers to hit just the right spot and within seconds the wave of ecstasy washed over her.

As the bliss receded and her eyes fluttered open, Eric was next to her, studying her face. "You are beautiful in rapture." He murmured as he brushed the hair from her face and leaned in to meet her lips in a kiss. She couldn't think of a response to that, but since the kiss continued she didn't have to.

She grew light-headed from the intensity of the kiss so soon after the powerful release, she felt a little drunk despite having only the one glass of champagne. It was a pleasant sensation, although she wondered why the room seemed to be getting dark.


	14. Chapter 14

My apologies for not posting too much lately, I hope this makes up for it.

Again I own nothing. All credit for these characters belongs to Charlaine Harris.

Chapter 14 Too hot to handle

"Sookie! Sookie!" She heard Eric's voice calling to her from a distance.

Why is he shouting? She wondered, irritated, can't he see I'm sleeping here? She turned her head away from the sound of the voice, wanting to slip back into the quiet darkness.

"Sookie! Wake up!" his voice was closer now and someone was shaking her, but it couldn't be Eric, his voice was still too far away.

She moved to swat away whoever was shaking her but her hand was too heavy. Something about that seemed odd, but she couldn't focus on what.

Then something wet and icy covered her forehead and her eyes popped open at the shock. Eric's face was inches from her own, concern furrowing his ageless brow.

"Sookie, are you alright?" he asked, he shifted his hand from her forehead to her cheek and the cold and wet followed.

She looked around as the room came back into focus. She realized he was sitting on the bathroom floor, his feet still in the tub, she was spread out across his lap, naked and dripping. They were making a huge puddle.

"Eric, we're getting the floor all wet." she protested as she tried to move into a sitting position.

"Fuck the floor." He spat, although the lines of concern were softening to relief as she seemed to come around. "Are you alright?" he repeated, his arms tightening so she couldn't get up.

"I think so." She said slowly. "What happened?"

"We were kissing and you passed out." his mouth curled up a little at the corner. He seemed to have impressed himself with his ability to make her swoon.

"I passed out?" she asked dumbly.

He nodded, the hand that had been on her cheek shifted to the back of her head, running along the scalp as though he was searching for something. "You didn't hit your head, did you?"

She shook her head and realized that hurt, but more from within. "I think I got overheated in the water." She realized she was very thirsty. She suddenly felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Here." He reached behind her and she could hear the sound of water and ice, he handed her the champagne flute but she could see that it was now filled with water and half-melted ice, she put it to her lips and drank. The cold liquid was marvelous, at this moment she felt it was better than the champagne. "Lie still until you feel better." He took the empty flute and refilled it.

She shifted slightly, embarrassed at her fainting spell, she was feeling more like a delicate southern belle at the moment than the warrior woman he had dubbed her. "I'm okay to sit on my own."

His arms tightened slightly, stilling her. "I like you where you are." He said with a lustful smile. His hand on her legs began to trace light paths on her thigh. The leg under her back shifted slightly to support her in more of a sitting position, he brought his hand up to brush the hair out of her face. "I should have realized you were getting too hot, but you always feel so warm to me, like the sun on my skin. I almost feel on fire when I'm inside you."

She was taking a gulp of water when he said that and it was an effort to keep from choking on it. The thought of him inside her again and the trail his hand was leaving were setting a new fire in her core. She squirmed slightly as she felt a wetness that was not water growing between her legs. Breathlessly she watched his hand for a moment, before looking at him with a coy smile. "That's not helping me cool down, in fact, I'd say it was having the opposite effect."

He stilled his hand, "Well we can't have that, is this better?" He pulled her wet hair up and away from her neck and blew gently on the damp skin. She shivered and goosebumps ran along her skin, but it wasn't from a chill.

"Nope," she said with a slight smile. This could be a very entertaining game. She took another sip of water. "Try again."

He, too, seemed to enjoy the challenge of the game, mischief entering his eyes. He leaned in and trailed a line of kisses on her shoulder, with each his tongue lightly touched her skin leaving a droplet of moisture. Pulling his head back he again blew softly across her damp skin. He looked at her questioningly.

She shook her head and took another long drink of water, anxious to see what he would try next, and wanting to cool off before he heated her up again.

His arm came up behind her back to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. His skin, which had been the temperature of the water, was cooling off, it felt chill against her overheated flesh. He locked her gaze with his, she saw a blur of motion in her peripheral vision but his look was so intense she couldn't pull her eyes away.

"Maybe this will help." he said softly, his lips twitching to fight a smile. Then his fingers tightened on her shoulder as his other hand covered her breast. She shrieked and tried to jerk away but his hand on her shoulder held her in place as his other hand circled her nipple with the ice cube he must have snuck from the champagne bucket.

The cold was so overwhelming that her nipple peaked immediately, pulling into such a tight bud that it ached. As she squealed and squirmed trying to escape the cold she managed to splash herself with the water from her flute. She dropped the delicate crystal in shock, but his hand with the ice darted out to catch it and place it safely aside. His eyes never left hers, but hers were flickering from meeting his to following his hand as he slowly brought the ice cube back to her sensitive bud, until she was only watching his hand. "Eric..." she began her voice a mix of fear and anticipation.

He leaned his head in to whisper in her ear. "If you really want me to stop say Fangtasia." Her head turned back to look him in the eyes, did he just give her a safety word? She had never thought she would do anything that would need one but she realized that while a part of her wanted to tell Eric to stop, deep down she really didn't want him to, she wanted to know what the icy coldness felt like in other places. She nodded her understanding and he winked at her, his eyes then going back to his hand slowly bringing the frozen cube back to her tender skin. She shrank from it, her breath catching in anticipation.

Just before it touched her skin she shrieked "No!" despite a part of her wanting to experience the sensation. But Eric took that as a signal to go for it and he brought the dripping cube to her hard rosy tip. She shrieked playfully again as he circled the peak with the rapidly melting cube. Once the cube was gone and only his fingers traced her nipple, he lowered his mouth to it.

Circling it with his tongue she marveled at how even his mouth seemed warm after the ice. She hummed in pleasure. "That seems to be working." He murmured against her breast. She heard his hand rustle in the ice and her body tensed again. He raised his head to grin wickedly at her. "I'll have you cooled down in no time."

She expected him to apply the ice to her other breast but instead he brought it up to her neck and traced from her pulse point to her ear. She gasped and giggled and tried to push his hand away. "Stop!" she urged playfully. He dropped the ice cube so it landed between her breasts and grabbed both her wrists in his icy fingers.

"Ah ah ah!" he chided, "This is for your own good." In one lithe motion she was over his shoulder and he was striding into the bedroom. She shrieked and struggled to get free, but froze when he gave her a light swat on her bare ass. "You're going to get yourself all heated up again." He scolded with a chuckle in his voice.

She expected him to throw her down on the bed, so was surprised when he strode across the room to the opposite wall. She heard a cabinet open that she didn't even know existed, but couldn't turn to see what was in it. "Eric, what are you doing?" She asked nervously.

"Making sure that you'll be a good girl and take your medicine." He closed the cabinet and turned to the bed. Sookie could not see what, if anything, he had taken out.

He put her down on the bed and in a blinding flash of movement she found her wrists bound in leather manacles attached by a chain which Eric was attaching to a loop on the headboard. Her eyes got wide. "Eric?" she asked, tugging on the chain and trying to pull out of the manacles.

His fingertips ran down her arms from the manacles to her shoulders which he gripped gently as he leaned down and kissed her. "Do you trust me?" he asked softly looking into her eyes.

She relaxed a little then. Yes, she did, foolish as that might be. But Eric didn't need chains to make her helpless. He was strong enough to take anything he wanted. She nodded, and breathed "Yes."

"If you want me to stop just say the word." he looked at her for understanding and she gave another little nod, surprised at her own daring.

He rose from the bed and returned to the cabinet that was built to blend into the wall. He opened the door just enough to take out another set of manacles, Sookie couldn't see inside. He walked to her side slowly and then ran a finger down the inside of her leg to her ankle which he then captured in the manacle and attached its chain near the foot of the bed, he repeated this with the other side so that her legs were open to him. She pulled lightly to see how much slack was in the chains and it wasn't much. She squirmed a little, she felt helpless under his hungry gaze, but instead of frightening her, she found it exciting.

"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." He teased and he padded out of the bedroom towards the hall. Sookie admired the view as he walked away, the muscles flexing under his alabaster skin. Once she was alone she tested the chains again and found them solid. She couldn't believe she was doing this. This was one of those nasty sex games she had read about and caught fantasy snippets of in guys' heads and always thought she was above them. But from the moment Eric asked if she trusted him, she was okay with it. More than okay, the more she thought about it the more aroused she became. He could do anything to her and she couldn't stop it, except she knew that she could and that was what made it okay.

He came back in with a large bowl. He walked directly to the foot of the bed, climbed on and made his way between her legs on his knees. He sat the bowl down on the outside of her leg. "They're not too tight?" he asked glancing at the restraints.

She shook her head, but shifted a little in anticipation.

"Good, now let's get you cooled off." He reached into the bowl and took out a large ice cube. He looked her over, "Where to begin?" he asked rhetorically. She was practically shivering with anticipation. He leaned over her, supporting himself with one hand as his eyes continued to roam over her body looking for the perfect spot. He brought the hand with the ice cube up slowly, and she realized she was holding her breath. Just as she let it out he locked eyes with her and she couldn't look away. He dipped the ice into her navel and she bucked and let out a little shriek.

"Oh god, that's so cold!" she tried to squirm away as it also tickled, especially now that he was tracing the edge of her bellybutton, but the chains did not have enough slack, and she was at his mercy. She tried to fight it back but began to giggle from the sensation. He began to widen the circle he was tracing into a growing spiral on her stomach. As the ice touched her warm flesh she squirmed. Just as his path would have met the top curls that covered her sex, and she held her breath in anticipation, he pulled his hand away. She let out a sigh that was a mixture of relief and disappointment.

"That one is getting too small." He murmured, he put it into her navel and left it there as he reached into the bowl for another piece. He locked eyes with her again, somehow keeping her from looking away to follow his hand. So when the ice touched her nipple she squealed.

"No!" she shrieked only half meaning it. This was the sexiest thing she had ever done and she didn't want it to stop.

"Oh yes." he replied with a wicked grin, seeing the pleasure in her eyes. He ran the cube around her nipple which quickly puckered at the cold, she thought it had never been so hard and aching. She moaned as the melting ice sent little drops of frigid water down the sides of her breast. When she thought she wouldn't be able to take it any longer he trailed the ice across to the other rosy bud which had already hardened in sympathy for the first. Even though she knew it was coming, and watched its slow approach, she gasped when it arrived. As he twirled the shrinking cube around she realized she was flexing her fingers, trying in vain to grab at him. Needing to hold on to something she grabbed the chains that were attached to her manacles.

The ice had melted to the point that his fingers were brushing her skin, as always his touch sent little flames of heat straight to her core. She writhed a little with the need for more contact with him, but she could barely move and he could easily avoid her. When the ice was gone, he pulled back slightly to admire his handiwork. "Well you _look_ cold." he said wryly. His empty hand covered a breast and she arched into it. "Hmm, you seem cold," he leaned down and ran his tongue over her icy peak. She cried out at the contact and pulled on the chains, she wanted to touch him, hold him there. But she was helpless when he raised his head.

"I think it's working. Let's see if you need cooling off anywhere else." He started to kiss his way up her chest to the column of her neck, continuing on to right beneath her ear. That sent goosebumps across her skin, but it wasn't from the cold. Kissing along her jawline, he finally met her lips and she brought her head up to kiss him hungrily. Her tongue invaded his mouth, seeking out his and battling it, she was trying to exercise some small control, drive him as crazy as he was making her.

But he was still in control and when she paused the kiss to breathe, he lifted his head and smirked down at her. "No, I'm afraid you're still hot." He said wickedly, turning slightly, he dipped his hand into the bowl, seemed to be searching for just the right piece, then brought his hand slowly to the column of her neck. As she watched it approach she scrunched down her neck, shaking her head in silent protest. His other hand grabbed her chin, turning her face to meet his gaze and exposing her throat to the frozen crystal. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

He brought the ice to the sensitive flesh right behind her ear and she sucked in her breath while reflexively trying to move her head away from the cold, but his hand on her chin held her firm. "Ah, ah, ah." he chided with a smirk, as he traced the vein on her neck with the ice.

She stuck her tongue out at him, too caught up in the sensations to speak. He moved the ice to her mouth. "I did notice your tongue was hot too." She started to pull her tongue back at the cold, but then traced the melting cube with it seductively, meeting his eyes in challenge. Lathing it as she would the head of his manhood, her tongue brushing his fingertips, her eyes burning into his. His eyes widened at her actions and she could see the muscles in his jaw tense. The cold felt good on her tongue, she raised her head to wrap her lips around it, sucking slightly. It was his turn to be tormented, she could tell he was imagining her mouth on him, licking and sucking and his hips thrust in response, his hard shaft moving across her stomach. Her eyes twinkled in triumph at his reaction. She pulled back slightly and let her tongue circle the end of the ice. A low growl built in his throat and he threw the ice aside and covered her mouth with his, his tongue seeking out hers. His tongue was the warmer and it felt wonderful to her, she sucked it deeper into her mouth. She rubbed against his length that was pressed between them and the growl grew stronger and he pulled back, raising himself on his knees and looking down at her.

She tried to reach up to him, the chains stopping her as she flexed her fingers at him. "Please." she begged, "I want to touch you."

He shuddered trying to get himself back under control. How could she make him come undone as helpless as she was? But she wasn't helpless, she arched her back to him, moving seductively, trying to get him to touch her again. Straining she was able to brush her inner thigh against his leg. He brought his hand down and caught it, his fingers stilling her while his thumb brushed back and forth across her skin. Breaking eye contact he grabbed her other thigh and looked down at his hands. "You're still burning up." he observed, moving his hands slowly up her thighs, but stopping just shy of where they met. She moaned, willing his hands to continue. Then his hands were gone and he was reaching into the bowl with both, pulling out two dripping pieces of ice.

She bit her lip in anticipation of the cold, but still arched and gasped as he started by her knees and followed the path of her arteries up her legs. Her reflexes tried to pull her legs away but the restraints prevented it. She wanted him now, but she didn't want to spoil the game, the cold she could stand, the sweet torment was driving her crazy. She bucked her hips at him, trying to coax him into touching her, driving her to release, but he smiled mischievously, his eyes sparkling. He ran the ice back and forth across her thighs, tracing patterns only he could see, until it was gone and his cold fingers sent lightning across her skin.

"Please!" she begged.

"Are you all cooled off now?" he asked in mock concern.

She nodded, swallowing hard. "I need you now." she demanded.

He let his hands move up her thighs until his thumbs were stroking her outer edge, she groaned at the contact and tried to force herself down onto his hands, but couldn't.

"Yes." she encouraged. Sighing as his thumbs parted her and began to stroke her inner folds. She was wet for him, had been since he had chained her here, and now she was hoping to get some release. One thumb covered her nub which jumped under his touch as he slid two fingers inside of her. She was sure nothing had ever felt so good, then abruptly his hands were gone. Her eyes popped open and she looked up at him.

He was shaking his head, "You lied to me. You're not cooled off everywhere." He said with mock seriousness, the corners of his mouth were twitching, despite his obvious attempts to keep a straight face.

She tried to pull back from him, "No, not there." she said hesitantly. It seemed like too much, she was so aroused and hypersensitized. Eric watched her as he reached for the ice bowl, and either her anxiety was making time crawl or he was moving in slow motion. She was sure he could see the conflict in her eyes, because a part of her wanted to see this game through to the end, plus she was curious despite herself on what it would feel like. She tried to keep her eyes focused on his, but she kept stealing furtive glances at his hand. His hand rose from the bowl, a large, glittering, frozen crystal in his hand. She licked her lips nervously as his arm moved the ice closer to her, she squirmed back imperceptively, her hands tightening on the chains.

"Sookie," he said softly. With effort she pulled her eyes away from the ice dripping in his grasp to his face. His eyes were serious. "where did we first meet?"

She felt her brow furrow in confusion. He knew where they had met and that was hardly the point now. Then it occurred to her that he was reminding her about her out, the safe word. "At that dive you call a vampire bar." She said defiantly, her eyes blazing in challenge.

He smiled broadly, and he brought the ice to her outer lips. She squealed and bucked at the contact. That seemed to spur him on and his other hand parted her.

"No!" she begged, not really meaning it, she had seen it through this far. As soon as the ice touched her inner folds she gasped in shock. "Oh God! That's so cold, I can't stand it!" she panted as his hand slowly moved the ice towards her nerve center.

"You're so hot the ice is melting too fast." he observed. He switched to a larger cube so fast she could barely see his hand move. When he brought it back he took it straight to her nubbin and she groaned at the new sensation. She could feel it convulsing trying to move away from the cold. Her whole body broke out in goosebumps and she couldn't make an intelligible sound, she was so overloaded with stimulation. Then he slid two icy fingers into her and she cried out. Her muscles tightening around him trying to stop him from going further.

"Eric!" she cried out.

"Yes?" he looked at her innocently, his fingers moving within her.

"Please, now."

"Please what?" Laughter was dancing in his eyes.

"I need you." she writhed before him.

"To do what?" His fingers driving her to the edge, but leaving her hovering there.

"Augh!" she cried out in frustration.

"More ice?" he suggested helpfully.

"No." she gasped.

"Shall I go get your champagne?" he offered.

"Dammit Eric, fuck me!" she shouted in frustration. Then her eyes grew wide and she flushed at her brazenness. She would have covered her mouth if he could.

"Miss Stackhouse, such language." he admonished her, with a look of triumph. He withdrew his hands and leaned over her, supporting himself with one arm as he positioned himself at her entrance with the other. Kissing her as he slowly filled her, she groaned into his mouth. He broke off the kiss to watch her face as he thrust deeper.

Her eyes were rolling up as the sensation overwhelmed her. "Oh yes, thank you." she murmured, so relieved yet she felt ashamed of her wantoness.

He smiled down at her, marveling at the emotions crossing her face. "It is I who should thank you." he protested, "I cannot remember being so happy."

She could see the earnestness in his eyes and swallowed hard. She wanted to hold him and strained at her bindings. "Please let me touch you," she paused then added huskily. "Master."

His face darkened and the smile vanished. "No! This wasn't about dominating you." She had obviously upset him, but she didn't know why. She thought that was a part of the game. Her confusion must have been visible, because his expression softened. "Making you seem helpless allowed you to do, and enjoy something you didn't think you should enjoy. Something that was a little wilder than you had done before. Even though a part of you knew you could stop it, you didn't because you could feign resistance."

She thought about that for a moment and realized she probably would have stopped it. Without the safety word when she had protested she was sure Eric would have stopped, which only the prim and proper part of her had really wanted. She smiled up at him "You are too clever." She tried to buck against him, but could barely move in the restraints. She wanted her legs around him and to pull him in closer, her lip came out in a pout when she couldn't. "I need my legs free to wrap around you." She squirmed under him.

"Well, when you put it that way." He grinned hungrily at her. He reached back and must have undid a release on each cuff so that the chains fell away. Immediately she entangled him in her legs and pulled him against her, forcing him in further, causing them both to moan. Reaching under her he inched her towards the headboard so her arms could relax and then raised her hips. He stayed kneeling, thrusting into her with increasing vigor. Supporting her hips with one hand he brought the other to her stomach, his fingers fanning out as his thumb found her clit and rubbed it in tempo with his movements. His eyes drank in her face as ecstasy took her, only closing as he too found his release.

He sank back on his haunches and gently lowered her hips. Unwrapping her legs, he straightened one up, so her foot was near his head and unfastened the restraint, kissing her foot before letting it go. She stretched the leg languidly before lowering it, then she brought the other leg up to him for him to release.

He kissed this foot too, but instead of releasing her leg he began to kiss his way up (down?) the inside of her leg. "Mmmm." she purred, but then rattled the chains still holding her wrists. "Ahem." she cleared her throat to attract his attention. "I need my hands," she shifted slightly, "plus the sheets are wet from the ice."

He stretched over her and unhooked the chain from the headboard, then released her hands from the leather bindings. "Good thing it's a big bed." he said with a smile as he tossed the restraints aside and rolled with her to the other side of the bed, coming to a stop with her on top. She sat up straddling him and stretched her arms and shoulders. He watched her breasts as they moved with the motion but rested his hands gently on her hips. His face became serious. "You were okay with that, right?"

She blushed, "I didn't think I would be, but I think it was the sexiest thing I have ever done." she admitted embarrassed. He smiled broadly. "Would you have been upset if I had stopped it?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, if ever you want to stop anything we're doing I want you to tell me." His hands tightened momentarily on her hips for emphasis. "I won't pleasure myself at your expense." She leaned forward, her chest against his, and kissed him lightly. As she continued kissing him the kiss grew more passionate until she broke it off breathless, and began kissing along his jaw, then down his neck. His hands moved over her back, tracing her spine and moving down to grip her bottom. She pressed back against his hands scooting down his body so she could kiss his chest. She covered a nipple and sucked on it slightly, before biting it, remembering how much he liked that. He moaned and tangled his hand in her hair holding her there. She pinched his other nipple while continuing to suck and bite, she could feel him hardening again beneath her. Releasing his nipple, she resumed kissing her way down his body.

He released her hair, and propped himself up slightly with the pillows, watching her. She wrapped her hands around his cock, looking up at him before she licked his length and covered the tip with her mouth. A purring growl built in his chest and he gripped the sheets to keep from grabbing her head and thrusting into her mouth. She was working to take him in, his size a struggle, but she continued to stroke his base as she cupped and fondled his balls. She tried to relax her mouth and throat as she raised her head, up and down on him, each time trying to take him in a little more, running her tongue along the underside of his shaft. She could taste herself on him and found it oddly exciting.

He mumbled something in that language she didn't know, looking up at him without stopping her movements, she could see the ecstasy building on his face. He saw her watching him and switched to English. "You're so hot, I'm on fire." but he definitely did not sound like he wanted her to stop. She reveled in the power to bring him so much pleasure and would have smiled in triumph if she could. Instead she just hummed around him, the vibrations moving through him and he tightened his grip on the sheets. His hips were thrusting slightly, though she could tell he was trying to hold back but she increased her pace. He was making throaty noises, before suddenly moving to sit up. "Sookie," he breathed, "I'm going to..." he reached for her, trying to stop from coming in her mouth, but she spread one hand out on his taut abdomen and pushed him down. He laid back and gripped the sheets again, his hips thrusting more as he neared his release. She adapted to his rhythm and felt his balls tense just before he cried out and shot into her mouth. Swallowing around him, she didn't move off until he relaxed against the sheets. Releasing him, she swallowed fully before licking him clean, which got his barely softening shaft stiffening again. Smiling at him, she crawled up his body to kiss him, stretching out to cover him like a blanket.

His hands came up to hold her hips and steady her as he kissed her gently. She broke off the kiss and grinned at him. "Good thing I have such a big mouth."

"I think it's perfect." He murmured as he traced her lips with his thumb. She shifted to playfully bite it. His other hand was stroking her back lightly, barely touching her, but reigniting the passion in her none the less. She shivered slightly, her eyes must have shown her rekindled arousal because his relit and he slid his hand to the back of her head to pull her in for a passionate kiss. The hand on her back slid down, covering her ass and kneading it. Her legs parted so she was straddling him, helping her balance. Since she was so much shorter than he, she was actually at his waist, though she could feel his arousal rubbing up against her backside as it grew. She raised herself slightly so her nipples were rubbing against his chest, he brought his hand from behind her and slid it between them to slide inside her and tease her nerve bundle.

She made a small noise of pleasure and pushed back against his fingers. _I am not going to be able to walk tomorrow,_ she thought, but knew that was not going to get her to stop. His other hand found her breast, squeezing it gently and pinching her nipple. She slid one hand between them to give his nipples equal attention. Her breathing was becoming more erratic as his fingers brought her close to yet another orgasm. She rocked forward so his gracious plenty slid down to her opening, Eric's fingers shifted to part her and she rocked back onto him, sliding back slowly until she was impaled on him. She paused for just a few seconds to adjust to him filling her, before pushing against his chest so she could rise up and rock against him.

She had her eyes closed as she was concentrating on establishing a rhythm, changing the angle slightly to find the one that took her breath away as she sighed raggedly and increased the pace he whispered, "Open your eyes."

She let them flutter open and found him staring at her. Drinking in every expression as one hand moved to her hip to steady her and the other moved to cup her cheek. Her cheeks burned at the intensity of his gaze, it never wavered from her face, not to look at her body, not even at her breasts, which were bouncing quite a bit. "Why..." She started to ask, but the hand on her hip shifted so his thumb pressed against her nub and she couldn't speak, only swallow convulsively as the sensation whisked her over the edge. As her muscles milked him he thrust against her to arrive at his own completion.

She collapsed onto him and he rolled them gently so they were laying on their sides and pulled out of her. She stretched her legs, then curled into the circle of his arms. "Why do you like me to look at you while we're...?" letting it trail off.

He smiled indulgently at her shyness, she was one of the most sexually responsive women he had ever known and yet she was too embarrassed to vocalize it. "Because, like I told you before, when you are in rapture you are breathtaking. And I stopped you from asking then because I knew you would protest at the compliment and it wasn't the time." He smirked at her indignation. Which drew a smile from her.

"You're right, it wasn't the time." She fought back a yawn.

"You need to sleep." he said looking guilty, "I've been keeping you up too late."

"No, it's okay, I..." And she fell asleep in mid sentence.


	15. Chapter 15

I hope everyone enjoyed the ice-cold lemonade last chapter.

I am quickly catching up to the point where I am still writing the story. Life has been crazy lately, but one of the highpoints is opening my email and finding a review. So thank you, everyone who has taken the time to review.

Again, the characters are not mine.

Chapter15 Searching

Sookie stretched herself awake, not panicking this morning when she found herself wrapped in Eric's arms. She played with the notion of cuddling against him and going back to sleep but she caught sight of the clock on the nightstand and realized it was almost noon. If she was going to get any investigating done she had better start.

With a sigh of resignation she lifted his arm and rolled out from under it. As her feet hit the floor she stretched again. She was a little sore but despite her concerns of the night before she was able to walk. She padded into the bathroom and realized she was extremely thirsty. Her "cooling down" last night had not allowed her to completely rehydrate. She drank a large glass of water as she turned on the shower to rinse off and make her hair manageable.

Under the warm spray she contemplated how best to try to track down Dr. Taggert and the factory where he works. Claudine had said the address had been fake so the obvious was out. She wished she had a copy of the Shreveport phone book and then she remembered the computer in the other room. She had used the computer in the library and Tara had shown her how to use the internet so she figured she would struggle through a couple of web searches.

She dressed quickly in shorts and a T-shirt, since she wasn't sure if she would need to go out. Passing through the bedroom, she spied the wall that had the cabinet. Compulsively tidy, she gathered the manacles and chains and pressed on the wall, hoping to find the release. After a few tries the panel popped open and Sookie gasped in surprise. The cabinet was full of various restraints, blindfolds and gags as well as whips and paddles. But there were a number of items that she had no idea what their purpose was. She hung the bonds on an empty hook and quickly shut the panel. She could feel her face burning, even though there was no one to see her embarrassment. She hurried out of the room as if she might get caught looking at what a good girl shouldn't.

When she got to the living room she went over to the computer after giving it a quick once over, she figured out how to turn it on, leaving it to start up while she went to the kitchen to fix a quick breakfast.

_First thing's first_ she thought, getting the coffee she bought out of the cupboard and opened it, inhaling deeply to savor the aroma. Glancing around the counter she realized there was no coffee maker. Even though she knew it was futile, since she had just gone through the cupboards a few days before, she opened them all again in a desperate search. When she confirmed that there was no coffeemaker to be found she groused to herself, _stupid vampires, how can they have an apartment without a coffee maker? How are their blood- and sleep-deprived humans supposed to function?_

She headed back to the bedroom and changed into jeans and slipped on some flat sandals, grabbing her purse on the way back through the living room she punched the button for the elevator. She would have to make do with coffee from the fast food place across the street. It was a short walk and it was nice to be out in the sun, deciding to eat out on the penthouse patio. Ordering a coffee, she was annoyed that she couldn't order off the breakfast menu so bought nothing else but a copy of the paper, which she tucked under her arm for the trip back.

Getting back to the apartment, she quickly fried up some eggs and made some toast under the broiler, since the apartment also lacked a toaster. Going to the door to the patio she tried to open it, but found it locked, nor could she find anyway to uncover the windows. Huffing in frustration she moved back to the bar, setting down her plate and coffee and opening the paper as she sat. Glancing at the front page she froze -there under the headline "Vamp Attacks – Cover-Up or Hoax?" was a picture of her, pinned against the wall screaming, as Pam was biting her throat. Underneath was the caption:

"A waitress, identified by patrons only as Desirée, appeared to be brutally attacked by one of the owners of Fangtasia, at the vampire establishment last night."

At least it didn't have her real name, she sighed, trying to find some bright spot. Skimming the article she found that the writer conveys the story that Eric had told the police – the attack was staged for publicity purposes – but casts doubt on that by dwelling on the attack of 2 nights before and that despite efforts to locate this Desirée, she seems to have vanished without a trace. He also reports on rumors of an attack in the backroom of the bar on the night of the previously reported attack.

Someone must have seen Pam's first attack. Sookie felt her cheeks burn, by the time Eric had rescued her, her breasts were fully exposed. At least a picture of that didn't appear in the paper.

There was a statement from one of the officers and one from Pam. The reporter apparently interviewed the woman who had been attacked before and she backed up the story that she had put blood in her make-up. Sookie wondered if Pam had glamored her while she was being treated in Eric's office.

The article was definitely not favorable to vampires – at best it made them seem insensitive and greedy, at worst it played on common fears that vampires were monsters, capable of disappearing people at will. She stared at the picture, trying to determine if she was recognizable in it. Probably only to someone who knew it was her to begin with she decided. Suddenly she had a sinking feeling in her stomach and dug her cellphone out of her purse. Sure enough there were six missed calls. Looking at the log all but one were from Sam. She cursed under her breath and listened to the messages.

"Sookie, it's Sam, I was just calling to say hi."

"Sookie, I just saw the paper, call me, I want to make sure you're all right."

"Damn it Sookie, call me back or I'm heading to Shreveport."

"Call me if you get this. I'm on my way there now."

"Please call me, or I'm going to stake that bitch and Eric too!"

In each call he was more agitated and frantic.

The last call was from Claudine, "Hey girl, I see you're front page news. Good thing I talked to you last night or a couple of vampires would be puddles of goo. Call me when you can."

She quickly dialed Sam's number, he picked up on the first ring. "Sook, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry I just got your messages. I'm fine."

"Where are you? I want to see you myself." He sounded both relieved and pissed.

"I'm at an apartment, not too far from Fangtasia. There's a diner nearby, let's meet for coffee." she suggested.

"Why can't I come there?" he asked his voice full of suspicion.

"Because, I think you're a little too angry to be this close to a sleeping Eric." She set her teeth, knowing he would come to the obvious conclusion.

"Damn it Sook." He growled. "I wish you could find a living guy."

"Sam." she replied in a tone that let him know that that was not a topic open for discussion.

"All right, how long will it take you to get there?"

"About ten minutes. See you then." Ending the call, she went back to the bathroom to add a light touch of make-up then headed out.

Sam looked visibly relieved when he entered the coffee shop, but she could see the lines of worry etched into his face. He gave her a big hug, then held her out, not hiding his search for bite marks from the attack.

"I told you I'm fine." she said softly and seriously. Looking around it seemed like the lunch crowd was thinning out, but there was no area that was empty so her hopes of a completely private conversation were dashed.

The hostess greeted them, and Sookie asked for a quiet table, consulting her seating chart and looking around the she grabbed a couple of menus and led them to a booth in the back. There were a couple of women who looked like secretaries in the next booth, lingering over their coffee, so hopefully they would be leaving soon and an elderly man reading the paper at a table across the aisle.

As soon as the hostess left, Sam set aside the menu and asked in a hushed impatient tone, "What the hell happened?"

"It was planned, we were trying to flush someone out, and we did. I wasn't hurt." she lied.

"The picture looked pretty real." he persisted.

"Do you see any marks?" she asked craning her neck to give him a better view.

"We both know that can be healed. The paper said the bar is closed, so you'll be coming home?" there was no mistaking the hope in his voice.

Sookie went to reply, but the waitress walked up, it was the same woman who waited on her and Claudine.

"Hi again, good to see you." She said warmly, she gave Sam an admiring glance and perked up the way Arlene did around a guy she was attracted to. "What can I get you all today?"

Sookie quickly picked up the menu and ordered a cheeseburger and soda, her eggs had gotten cold while she was engrossed in the paper and she was starving. Sam ordered the same without looking at the menu. Promising to be right back with their drinks she sashayed away. Sookie was sure that her hips were swinging more today than yesterday.

"So?" Sam prompted.

"No, not yet. Something's going on and I'm trying to stop it."

"Sook, let Eric solve his own problems."

"It's not Eric's problem I'm working on." She was going to elaborate when she the thoughts of one of the women at the next table slipped through her blocks, this woman was a strong broadcaster. She had been eavesdropping and was beginning to wonder if they were referring to the events at Fangtasia last night. "So, how are things at home?" She asked in a light tone, gesturing to let Sam know the woman at the next table was listening.

"Fine," he went along with her subject change, though he didn't look happy about it. "Jason was asking if I had heard from you."

"Why doesn't he call me himself?"

"It's not like you answer your phone." he said wryly.

"Sorry, I had left it in my purse in the living room."

The waitress came with their drinks. "Your food will be up in just a bit." she assured them.

"Thank you." Sookie smiled up at her and asked in a slightly raised voice "Do you have the time?" She knew the eavesdropper was worried about getting back to work on time.

"Sure sweetie, it's 1:20."

"Thanks again." Sookie read the frustration in the nosy woman as she reluctantly got up and glanced at Sookie, thinking she didn't look at all like the woman in the paper and was much too clean cut to be a fangbanger. As she walked away Sookie dipped into the mind of the elderly gentleman and realized he was very hard of hearing and was not paying attention to them at all.

She turned back to Sam. "Someone is putting fairy blood into fangbanger make-up. Claudine doesn't think the fairies are willingly participating so I'm looking into it."

Slumping back against the booth he asked, "I don't suppose I can convince you to let the fairies take care of their own problems?"

She smiled, he knew her so well. "It's not just their problem, the make-up drives vampires crazy, which is what caused that woman to be attacked the other night. So this is affecting people, fairies and vampires. And of course it's almost impossible for the fairies and..." She stopped as the waitress brought them their food. Starting in on the fries until the woman had moved away.

"So, the fairies and vampires can't really work together directly." she finished, taking a bite of her burger.

"But you don't have to be the go-between." he persisted.

"Who else will?" she challenged.

"You're too big-hearted for your own good." he accused.

They ate in silence for awhile. Sookie could tell Sam was trying to decide what to say next. She stayed out of his mind and waited for him.

"Will you be coming back to Bon Temps?" He asked quietly not looking at her.

The question caught her off guard, "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"You're with Eric now, right?" He glanced up at her, but quickly lowered his eyes again.

"Yes, but I'm not about to uproot my whole life. I don't even know if this will work out." She smiled warmly at him and touched his hand so he would look up. "You better not give away my job." she warned.

Some of the tension flowed out of him at that. He smiled back, "I've said it before, you have a job at Merlotte's as long as you want it. I'm glad to hear you still want it."

They talked for awhile, Sookie told him what they had found out so far, he made a few comments but his ideas pretty much mirrored hers. When they finished their meal, Sam insisted on paying, they hugged, Sookie promised to call Sam first thing every morning and Sam headed back to Bon Temps. Sookie waved as he drove away, then leaned against her car and called Claudine. When she didn't pick up Sookie left a brief message, then got in her car. She was about to return to the apartment when she headed instead to Claudine's store. There she could see if she could meet up with her fairy godmother and pick up a coffee maker.

Claudine was at the customer service desk and Sookie stood to the side while she watched Claudine calm an irate customer with aplomb. Once that woman was gone Sookie caught Claudine's eye. The fairy said something to her coworker and came out from behind the counter.

She gave Sookie a big hug and steered her into the main area of the store. "I loved your picture in the paper this morning." she said with a mischievous grin.

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Sam didn't, he drove here ready to stake Pam and Eric, it didn't help that I overslept so I missed his 5 calls."

"So was it worth it? Did you find out anything?" She asked seriously.

Sookie relayed the information they had gotten from Alex, Claudine was concerned about the involvement of the Fellowship of the Sun.

"Now I am more sure none of us are involved, we give that bunch of fanatics a wide berth." She looked thoughtful. "So the scientist's name was Taggert?"

"That's what Alex said, but he didn't get a first , does it ring a bell?"

"No, but I'll ask around. Alex couldn't tell you anything else?"

"No, he didn't know what was in the make-up that would drive the vampires crazy, just that it would. I don't know if Taggert knows, but either way it opens up a lot of questions. If he doesn't know it's fairy blood where did he get it and how does he know how it effects vampires? If he does know, how did he find out about you all and what is his source for blood?" Sookie shook her head, "I have way more questions than answers." She had guided them over to the small appliances and stopped to look at the coffee makers.

Claudine raised an eyebrow, "Setting up house?"

Sookie rolled her eyes. "No, I am not planning on living in the apartment longterm. But I do need my coffee in the morning. Besides, Eric told me he wants the place human friendly." She picked a coffee maker with a timer so she could set it to be waiting for her in the morning. It was black so she thought it would probably go well with the apartment's décor.

"Have you discovered if any of you are missing?" Sookie asked quietly since a woman had come up to look at the blenders just down the aisle.

"There are a couple of people I have been trying to contact but they might be traveling. I'll call you if I find out for sure one way or the other." She looked at her watch. "I have to get back to work. Keep me posted." She gave Sookie another hug and headed back to her post. Sookie stared at the coffee maker in her hands, she wasn't setting up house here she told herself firmly, she just had to make sure if it came up she told Eric just as firmly. After all she had been with Bill for months and they hadn't moved in together. Sure she slept over there often and he had built his hidey-hole but she kept her house and independence.

She grabbed a box of conveniently placed coffee filters and started for the registers. She passed the toaster display and started to wish she had gotten a cart. Propping up the coffee maker box between her knee and a shelf, she grabbed a toaster and tucked it under her arm, held the coffee filters in that hand and then wrapped her arm around the coffee maker. She just barely made to the register, but she did.

She got back to the apartment with several hours of daylight left, still time to do some investigating. Quickly unwrapping and setting up her new purchases before moving to the computer. It had gone to sleep, but quickly woke up when she punched a button. It asked for a username and password and Sookie sighed in frustration. Since this apartment was for visitors she hoped the information was here somewhere and found it on a sticky note on the underside of the keyboard. Getting onto the internet was not a problem, it was really the only thing she ever did on a computer, searching for "Shreveport – Chemical plants" she got 16 hits. A couple seemed to have closed since the links to their websites led to error messages, several others were janitorial supply companies, one was agrichemicals, which left 3 that she thought were possibilities. Searching their webpages, she could not find any listing of employees other than the executives, deciding she would have to call each of them she tried to think up a cover story for why she was calling. She didn't think, "Hi, I'm calling to see if you are draining fairies to make cosmetics." would do the trick.

Coming up blank, she finally decided to wing it. Picking up the apartment phone she dialed the main number for the first company on her short list. It was picked up by an automated response that gave her the opportunity to access a company directory by typing in a name, she tried that but it seemed to get her lost in the system. Giving up she pressed zero and was thankful to hear a human voice.

"Miller Chemicals, how may I direct your call?" Came a perky voice.

"Dr. Taggert please."

"I'm afraid no one by that name works here. What department were you trying to reach?"

"Sorry, our database must have an error, thank you." Sookie hung up quickly. Well that wasn't too bad, she eliminated another possibility at least.

The next number yielded the same result but on the third the receptionist asked, "May I say who's calling?"

"Tara Fowler." she supplied quickly. Wondering what she was going to say if Taggert picked up the phone.

"Hold on please." Then some very bland elevator music filled the line. "I'm afraid he's unavailable at the moment, would you like to leave a message?"

Keeping the relief out of her voice she replied, "No, thank you, I'll try back later."

She smiled with pride. She had managed to track him down without using her "gift" but now what? She couldn't very well break in, plus there was the possibility that the Fellowship had shown Taggert the picture of her, so it might be dangerous to just visit, unless she went in disguise again. That would require a new wig, she had left the one from Dallas in the Fellowship building, but what cover story could she use?

She didn't know enough to bluff her way as some sort of inspector, nor would she even know where to begin to try to pretend to be a sales rep of some sort. Who else would want to go to a chemistry factory? Then it hit her, maybe a teacher, trying to arrange a tour for her class. It would probably have to be at least middle school, lower grades wouldn't be studying chemistry. She looked up middle schools in Shreveport and checking out their faculty lists she was able to find several that had female science teachers whose name she could maybe use. Would she need some sort of ID? Maybe Eric could arrange that.

As if summoned, Eric opened the door that led back to the bedrooms. Inhaling deeply he smiled hungrily. "I love waking up to the smell of fairy." he purred as he made his way over to her and buried his head in her neck. But he stiffened immediately, "You smell like shifter." he said accusingly.

Sookie gave him a withering stare, "Don't you start in with who I smell like, it drove me crazy when Bill pulled that."

He nodded curtly, acknowledging her objection. "I assume you saw Sam today?" He asked calmly, keeping most of the jealousy out of his voice.

Sookie stood, heading over to the bar to show Eric the paper. "He was worried about me." she said as she passed it to him. "He drove here to stake you and Pam since I hadn't answered my phone and he assumed the worst." Eric smirked, he obviously did not think Sam would have been successful in his attempt. Then he turned his eyes to the article and Sookie waited for him to finish reading.

"Is it dark already?" she asked suddenly, she didn't think that much time had passed, but in the light tight apartment it was very hard to tell.

He glanced up briefly, "Not yet, I got up early." then returned to reading. When he finished his brow was drawn up in a frown, "Well it definitely isn't a favorable article. Although the picture is not bad." He grinned, "Pam might have it framed."

"I'm sure." Sookie smiled crookedly. "Do you think I should call the reporter as Desirée to help clear up my disappearance?"

"I don't think so, since you have no identification as Desirée, there's no proof you are her, and it might get your real name in the paper, which might cause the Fellowship to come after you, or close down the VampBait operation."

"I didn't think of that, I guess we can see if it blows over. Or wait til we put VampBait out of business." She remembered the results of her sleuthing, "Speaking of that, I tracked Dr. Taggert down."

"Really?" He looked surprised and impressed.

"Yep, I used the computer and made a few phone calls, so I know what chemical plant he works at. Or at least I know of a chemical plant that employs a Dr. Taggert, since we don't have a first name I won't know unless I see him."

"How do you propose doing that?" he asked letting her lead the way.

"I thought I would pose as a teacher trying to arrange a field trip. Is it possible for you to get me a teacher's ID?"

"That shouldn't be a problem." He pulled his phone from his pocket and she assumed he was going to make a call, instead he held up the phone and said "Smile."

"Wait, what are you doing?" she asked confused.

"We'll need a photo for the ID." Still holding up the phone.

"Not like this, I'm going to need a disguise in case the Fellowship showed Taggert my picture. I was just going to go out and see if I could find a wig. Do you want to come?"

"I can't, not for another..." he slid his finger over his phone a few times, "... 35 minutes." He walked up and pulled her close, passion kindling in his eyes. "Could I convince you to wait?" He asked suggestively.

"Gee, I wonder how we will ever pass the time?" She smiled up at him, pulling his head down for a kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

This is a short chapter, sorry. The good news is I'll be posting more frequently as I have finally completed the final draft and am just doing some proofing and polishing.

I want to again thank all my reviewers. You give me so much encouragement.

Again, I own nothing except this little plot I cooked up.

Chapter 16 - Shopping

It turned out they had no problem filling the 35 minutes, or the 35 after that. When it became obvious he was ready to go for the next 35, she sat up. "Eric, I have to go before the stores close."

He turned over onto his back, one hand under his head, his alabaster body glowing in the dark made her mouth water, and almost made her change her mind. "Have I told you I hate your work ethic?" He murmured as he ran a finger down her arm.

Smiling, she stood, "I thought I was a good, practical viking woman?" she challenged. She headed to the bathroom, bending and sweeping up her clothes as she went. When she straightened he was standing in the bathroom doorway.

"Practical is not what I'm looking for now." He turned to let her into the bathroom. "Shower?" he suggested.

"Mmm, when we get back." she promised him with a kiss. "But now I need to use the ladies and find a wig. Can you see if you can find a wig shop in town that's open this late?" She held the door so she could close it once he moved.

He leaned in to kiss her again. Then mumbled against her lips. "This will be the quickest shopping trip ever."

"So shoo! So I can get ready." she gave a little wave to send him off and closed the door.

He did his best to make it a quick shopping trip, looking down right annoyed when, after she had picked out a long, straight, brown wig, she suggested stopping for a bite to eat. But she put her foot down. "Were you planning to eat later?" she asked, one eyebrow raised accusingly.

The question, and its implication, caught him off guard and he actually looked a little guilty, before he gave in, "I see your point. Where do you want to go?"

"I think there is a foodcourt here at the mall, I can find something there." She grabbed his free hand, the other was carrying her box from the wig shop, and pulled him in that direction.

"Are you sure? I can take you someplace nicer." he offered.

"It's fine for now," she shrugged, "we're in the middle of an investigation and don't have time for anything too fancy."

"How about once we figure this out I take you out to a nice dinner?"

"You mean like a date?"

"Yes, like a date. We could do dinner and dancing. I enjoyed watching you dance at Josephine's" he added, a lustful look in his eyes.

She smiled, "I could tell." her eyes sparkled up at him. "It didn't take a telepath to know what all the vampires in the bar were thinking." They had reached the food court and she scanned the choice of restaurants trying to decide what to eat. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Eric stiffen and look around, she was instantly on alert. "What is it?" she asked warily.

"A fairy is here, or has been recently." he said softly so only she could hear.

"Are you sure it isn't someone wearing VampBait?" She asked equally low.

"Yes, this is different, fresher, not so dry." He was inhaling deeply, trying to track by scent. He must have determined a direction because he started to head toward the exit. Sookie kept her feet planted.

"What are you going to do? Hunt whoever it is down for a snack?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"No," he rolled his eyes, "I have better control than that, but it may be someone watching us." He pulled her toward the exit. "I want to see who it is, and ask them some questions."

She sighed and started to follow. "Fine, but we are coming back in so I can eat."

He gave a curt nod, all his senses focussed ahead of him. As they got to the door he released her hand, signaled for her to stay where she was and be quiet. Then at lightning speed he was through the door, stopping about 20 feet out and turning to look around for any sign of someone lying in wait. After a moment he gestured for her to follow, which she did cautiously. When nothing attacked her she joined him and they followed his nose out into the parking lot. It was getting late and it was a week night so it was only sparsely populated. He stopped at an empty parking place. "Whoever it was must have driven away." he murmured looking frustrated.

"Did you recognize the fairy? Could it have been Claudine?" She asked looking around, now she was worried about being watched, wondering if she should have been before.

He shook his head, and gave her a crooked grin, "I've become fairly familiar with Claudine's scent lately. It wasn't her."

"Well, let's go back in so I can eat. I still need to get done up in this wig so you can take my picture for an ID." She turned back to the mall entrance. "How soon do you think it can be done?"

After taking one last look around the parking lot he fell into step next to her. "It should only take an hour or so. I'll have Bobby drop it off in the morning."

Sookie got a combination plate from the Chinese-style restaurant and they walked over to a table. As always she was a little self-conscious eating in front of a vampire. For one thing her up-bringing told her it was rude to eat in front of someone who wasn't eating, for another, Bill had always had a hard time hiding his revulsion at the process. Eric didn't seem to have the same problem.

"Does it bother you to watch me eat?" She asked.

He shook his head, "No, I've been around so long I just decided it was something I needed to get over. Besides, I like watching your expressions when you eat. I can tell when you're really enjoying yourself."

She nodded since she had a mouthful of food. It certainly made sense.

The mother and tween at the next table finally got up and left so Sookie asked a question she had been holding. "Do you really think the fairies are watching us?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug, but she could see in his eyes that he did.

"Why would they? We're trying to help stop whoever is using their blood. We're on the same side." she reasoned.

"If none of them are behind this." She started to interject but he stopped her. "Sookie, you're very trusting, but fairies, while they don't lie, are not known for their honesty."

"Are you saying Claudine is hiding something from me?"

"I am saying she might not have been completely truthful, or that others were not truthful with her. With the..." He started to continue, but worker came to wipe down the vacated table and he changed what he was about to say. "With these... folk there are different factions and they do not play nicely. One faction could be behind it and have managed to completely hide it from the others. If Claudine wasn't careful in her asking around she might have tipped our hand and then she and anyone she has come in contact with could be under surveillance, which would be you."

"Sounds as bad as vampire politics."

"Ha, they make our politics look like schoolyard squabbles." He leaned in so he could speak softly, his face very serious. "Never take anything they say at face value. I hate dealing with them, it's always dangerous."

Her eyes grew wide, up to this point she had only met Claudine and her brother Claude, and other than his rudeness, she didn't imagine having anything to worry about from that supernatural direction. "I never thought of them as dangerous, they have pretty good PR if what you are saying is true."

"Read the old stories." he suggested. He shook his head. "I've been worried ever since Claudine showed an interest in you. That both she and her brother seem to be watching you makes me even more suspicious."

"But Claudine has saved my life, a lot of times!" Sookie protested on behalf of her fairy godmother.

"But why? Why you and why now? Do you know anyone else who has a fairy godmother?"

She shook her head.

"And if they are watching over you, who are they protecting you from?" He looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "Just the very act of them watching you might attract unwanted attention from their enemies." He shook his head with finality as if he had just convinced himself of something. "No good can come from being close to fairies. The sooner we are done with this the better."

Sookie found herself no longer very hungry, she put down her fork and dabbed at her mouth with the paper napkin.

He glanced down at her almost empty plate. "Are you finished?"

"Just have my fortune cookie left." She picked it up and cracked it, pulling out the little slip of paper.

"A thrilling time is ahead for you."

For most people that wouldn't sound ominous, but based on her life since Bill had walked into Merlotte's she was pretty sure this didn't bode well. She showed it to Eric and he raised one eyebrow. His look said he agreed.


	17. Chapter 17

I should be updating daily now, as I do the final edits on the chapters. Thanks for bearing with me and encouraging me during this long process.

Thanks to Charlaine Harris for creating these great characters.

Chapter 17 Pictures

When they got back to the apartment Sookie went and found the most conservative top she had packed. A fairly plain round neck tee in a blue and white flower print. Looking at her selection of clothes she was worried nothing looked teacher-y enough. She decided she would probably have to stop at a store in the morning and pick something up. She then tied up her own hair and hid it under the wig. The straight brown hair went well with her suntanned skin. Since the wig was parted in the middle she pulled back a bit on either side of her face and clipped it just behind the crown of her head. She looked at herself from several angles and decided that would work.

She came back out to the living area to find Eric texting. He looked up when she came in and smiled, but looked back down at his phone. "What name did you say you wanted on the ID?" he asked as he typed.

"Oh, I wrote it down over here." She walked up to the computer desk and grabbed the notepad. "Christie Hampton, from Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School. I thought it would be best to use the name of a real teacher at a real school in case they check out my story.." she was kind of proud that she had thought of that.

Eric nodded, "Good thinking." He reached for the pad of paper so he could enter the information correctly into the text. When he finished he stood up and looked around the apartment. "Where should we take the picture?"

Sookie looked around too. "What about over here," she gestured to the wall the elevator was on. "If we take down this painting, there is a pretty big section of solid wall which would work for a simple ID."

He nodded, "That looks good." He took the painting, an underwhelming abstract, down from the wall easily and moved it aside. Sookie moved into place and put on one of those half-smiles people always use for ID pictures.

He held up his phone, framing her in the shot and making adjustments. After the phone made a fake shutter click, Sookie started to move away from the wall, but he insisted on taking a couple so they could pick the best. She patiently stood still until he was satisfied, grateful when he indicated he was done.

"Come pick which one." he offered her the phone, she flipped through the shots.

"This one." she indicated, handing him back the phone.

"That's the worst one, what about this one?" he switched to a different one.

Shaking her head she reasoned, "That one looks like the person taking the picture cared how it turned out. This should look more like a driver's license photo." She carefully lifted the wig off her head. "These things are so hot. I'm glad it isn't high summer, wearing that wig in Dallas almost killed me."

Eric was doing something with his phone, Sookie assumed he was sending the picture. "I'm going to put this away." Indicating the wig and she headed to the bedroom, anxious to take down her hair. Entering the bathroom she placed the wig on the styrofoam head they had purchased with it. She brushed her own hair after taking the pins out. Then brushed her teeth and washed her face. Turning to the door she saw her nightgown hanging on it and quickly changed into it before reentering the bedroom.

Eric was there pulling off his shirt, he looked at her admiringly, "Beautiful, but I thought we were going to shower?" He looked a little disappointed.

She had forgotten that part of their earlier conversation, but quickly formulated a plan. "We will," she agreed as she approached him and reached her hands up behind his head, pulling him down to a kiss. "but I thought we could finish that way." She pressed her lips to his and with no coaxing his mouth parted and her tongue slid past his teeth. Their hands roamed each others bodies, caressing, kneading, scratching. Eric worked the night gown off her and when it hit the floor, swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. Placing her down gently, he backed away and pulled his phone from his pocket. Still fuzzy from the passion of the kiss she asked, "Who is it?"

Eric looked confused. "Who is who?"

"On the phone." she said tersely, it was bad enough that they were interrupted. Why didn't Eric just talk to them and get the call done?

"No one is on the phone, I was just going to take a picture of you." He held up the camera.

She grabbed a pillow and held it in front of herself. "You are not taking a picture of me naked! What happens if it gets out? I don't want everyone I know to be able to see me in my altogether on the internet." She worked to make sure the pillow was covering her.

"I won't let that happen." He looked annoyed that she thought he would be so careless.

"And what if you lose your phone?" She set her jaw. "No naked pictures."

"You can take some of me." he offered.

"I wouldn't mind having one of you, but you aren't getting one of me."

Eric looked disappointed, then his expression showed an idea popping into his head. "How about in the negligee?"

Sookie looked at the pile of blue-grey cloth on the floor, and bit her lip in contemplation. She glanced at Eric, who had a hopeful expression. "Okay, give it to me." She held out her hand for the nightgown.

A broad smile split Eric's face and he fetched it quickly. "Don't even think of taking a picture while I'm putting it on." she warned him. He tried to look both innocent and offended and she rolled her eyes at him while doing her best to slip into the nightgown and still stay hidden behind the pillow. When she got it on she tossed the pillow aside and spread out the skirt. "Okay." She turned to him and she felt her stressed smile stretch across her face.

"Relax." he urged. Smiling gently at her. "It's not a _Playboy_ photoshoot, no one will see these but us. Besides, you are beautiful and completely covered." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly willing herself to relax. She felt the crazy smile fade from her face.

"Alright, is this better?" She put on her best "class picture" smile.

"Yes." he took the picture and she relaxed some more. "Can we do a few?"

She nodded and smiled again. He shifted slightly so he was a little behind her. "Look over your shoulder at me." he suggested. She did, but kept the smile on her face. "Flirt with me."

"What?" she seemed a little uncomfortable.

"That drawing you liked? Look at me like that."

Her cheeks flushed, but she tried, looking back at him through her lashes, a slight smile on her face. "Perfect." He looked very pleased. He moved back in front of her. "Now turn your head to the side and lift up your hair." Sookie realized he wanted a picture of her neck, so she stretched it out for him, and put a look of anticipation on her face. He smiled appreciatively, obviously happy that she was starting to go along with it. She tried several other poses that she thought might be seductive, still a little embarrassed. Eric giving her encouragement all the while. She had to admit she was getting into it, especially because she could see the effect it was having on Eric, during one change of position, when she was leaning forward and he had a pretty good view down the front of her nightie, his fangs had clicked down. Lying on her back, she bent one knee up, so her leg came up through the slit in the skirt. She stroked her inner thigh above the artery there and looked coyly at him. She could see his pants were looking very tight. She turned on her side and beckoned him to her with her finger.

Smiling hungrily, he took one final picture and placed the phone on the night stand. Shifting to her knees she grabbed his belt loops and pulled him to her. She began kissing his chest as her hands made quick work of his belt and undid his pants. Her mouth found a nipple and she bit it, his hand came up and tangled in her hair gently, holding her there. "Harder." he urged and she did, feeling his blood tingle on her tongue, spreading a fire through her. She pushed his pants down low on his hips letting his gracious plenty free. He sighed, either with pleasure or relief she couldn't tell. She brought her hands to his manhood, stroking it. She began kissing her way down his torso, until she was low enough to take him into her mouth. He moaned as her mouth surrounded him, taking him in slowly and deeply. The sound of his pleasure aroused her and she felt the wetness grow between her legs. She kept one hand on the base of his shaft, stroking him as she began moving her head up and down, her other hand she slid inside his pants back to his ass, pulling him closer to her, she traced every ripple of muscle, clawing lightly as she did.

His hands were moving over her back, the only part of her he could reach as she was curled up on her knees, bent over low to pleasure him. He caressed her and ran his hands lightly over her spine. But, when at the top of her movement, she circled his tip with her tongue his fingers dug in and he grunted something in that ancient language. She repeated that on each upward path and he was soon rocking faintly, his hips thrusting slightly, although she could tell he was trying to hold back. Giving his butt a final squeeze she brought that hand forward to come up and cup his balls, fondling and squeezing. Another exclamation passed his lips and he started thrusting in earnest, Sookie adjusted her movements to his. She felt his release approach and accepted it eagerly. Pulling back to swallow it down.

As soon as the last tremors passed through him, he pulled her up for a hungry kiss that took her breath away. He momentarily broke off the kiss and pulled the nightgown off her in one quick movement, yet leaving it intact. He rejoined the kiss with increased fervor as his hands were everywhere on her body, driving her as wild as he seemed to be. Now it was her turn to break away, her breath coming in ragged gasps. He trailed nipping kisses down her throat, she gripped his back, her nails digging in slightly as she waited for his bite which didn't come. Rather, he bent lower to her breasts and her fingers came up to tangle in his hair. His hands moved down her, kneading her butt before lightly running down the back of her thighs. He began to sink down into a crouch, his mouth moving down her body. His hands grabbed her behind her knees and managed to flip her so she was on her back and her legs were in the air. He knelt before her, letting her legs rest on his shoulders as he kissed up her thigh. He nipped and sucked along her inner thigh, not hard enough to break the skin or even leave a hickey, but each time she braced for a bite and the anticipation was driving her crazy. Then his mouth left her leg as he turned to face her. He nuzzled the blonde nest that covered her sex and she fought to keep from thrusting at him, but moaned at the contact. He kissed along her opening without parting her, the light touch tantalizing and frustrating at the same time. Then his tongue parted her and she cried out at the pleasure.

His fingers parted her further, allowing his tongue to explore. She tried to keep from writhing under him, letting him control the contact. She grabbed at the sheets to steady herself, closing her eyes to shut out all sensations but the fire his mouth was spreading. Her breath was ragged, coming in arrhythmic gulps as he drove her nearer the edge and he had barely even touched her nerve center yet, but rather seemed to be avoiding it. As if he knew what she was thinking he covered her nub then and sucked it into his mouth. She shrieked at the shock of it and a tremor ran through her. His tongue began to lightly flick the sensitive bundle and she was reduced to small groans of pleasure. When she thought she couldn't take any more without exploding with pleasure, two of his fingers entered her and began pumping in and out. She couldn't stop herself from rocking with him, but not for long because she spilled over into ecstasy.

Eric was kissing her lightly as the world came back into focus, she could taste herself on his lips which was oddly exciting. He had shifted her so her head was on the pillow and she was fully on the bed. They were lying side by side facing each other, his arms were wrapped around her and he was stroking her back lightly. She wrapped her free arm around his waist. He pulled back to smile at her. "You are delicious."

"Um, thank you?" she could feel her cheeks burning, the compliment falling into the sphere of inappropriate things in her upbringing.

He chuckled in his throat, bringing a hand up to brush her hair back behind her ear. "You are such a study in opposites." he mused, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

She frowned slightly, unsure if that was complimentary. "What do you mean?"

"You are so passionate, yet at the same time you embarrass so easily. You are so beautiful but modest. You have endured so much but remain so caring." She covered his mouth with her hand. Her cheeks were burning even hotter.

"Stop, I'm just me." she murmured, lowering her eyes.

He gently pulled her hand away. "Being 'just you' is a marvelous thing. I wish you would realize that."

"Believe me, that's not a common opinion." She tried to turn away, but he wouldn't let her.

"I don't give a damn about the opinions of anyone whose mind you can read." he said angrily. Hooking a finger under her chin to tilt her head up to look him in the eye. "You are respected by many vampires. You have attracted the attention, for good or ill I don't know yet, of the fae. And the two-natured seem to be too interested in you as well." The last was said with a bit of a scowl and a hint of jealousy.

She opened her mouth to protest, but he put a finger across her lips. "I never try to tell you how to be, but I hate that you do not accept how wonderful you are. I have studied humans for a very long time and I have seen how they try to destroy anything they fear or envy. Just because they try to do that to you doesn't mean you should let them."

"Eric! The people I know aren't trying to destroy me. Remember I can read what they are thinking. I know that's not what they're trying to do." She was appalled at the accusation.

"Can you read the motivations they don't even acknowledge to themselves?" He asked with one brow arched, "People don't like different, they try to change anything or anyone who is different to fit whatever they define as 'same'. If that doesn't work they try to drive it away. Isn't that what people have been doing to you your whole life? Your friends and family trying to get you to act like everyone else, and the people who don't care about you treat you badly to try to keep you away from them?" She lowered her eyes again, which was all the proof he needed to continue. "I'm not saying your friends are bad for trying to change you. It's human nature. Some instinct that probably kept them safe for thousands of years. But that doesn't mean you have to bow to it." He again lifted her chin so she would look at him. He smiled widely at her. "Besides who are you going to believe, a bunch of people who haven't been alive for even a century, or someone who is a thousand years old and has been to every continent but one?"

"Which one haven't you been to?" She asked.

"Antarctica, and no changing the subject. I want you to promise me, no more arguing when I give you a compliment."

"Okay, I'll try."

"Now, tell me your plan for tomorrow." he urged, resuming the slow stroking of her back.

"Well, like I said, I'm going to pose as a teacher. Tell them I was hoping to bring my science class there so they could see science in action." she shrugged. "That's about it, I'm hoping to talk them into taking me on a tour, so I can see if they are making VampBait there. Then I'll try to see if I can meet Dr. Taggert, or at least get his full name so we can track him down."

"I wish you could go at night, so I can come with you. I worry, especially since there is a connection to the Fellowship of the Sun."

"Unfortunately, most human businesses aren't open that late."

"Go in the afternoon, as late as you think you can. If anything does happen, I don't want there to be too much time before I can come and help you."

"Okay. I'll be careful." she assured him.

"You always are." he smiled at her. "I trust your judgement." He kissed her lightly, then more deeply, lighting a fire in her again as his hands moved across her, touching her in all the right spots to feed the flame. She reciprocated, her fingers playing across his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles and teasing his nipples. He turned them so he was on his back and she was straddling him. She pulled herself up so she could look down on him. One of his hands came up and covered one of her breasts, squeezing lightly before rubbing his palm across the hard bud. His other hand went to the apex between her legs, slipping inside and tracing her nub.

"End of conversation?" she asked wryly, grinding down on his hand, as hers covered his abdomen, tracing the muscles which danced under her fingers.

"For now." he smiled up at her, watching her eyes as he fanned the fire within her. She moved one hand behind her to stroke him and she could see the pleasure in his eyes. In very little time she could tell that he was ready and she knew she was. She rose up higher on her knees and his hands came to her waist to lift her slightly up and back. She positioned him at her entrance and he eased her down. Sighing as she stretched around him, she worked to keep her eyes open. She began to raise and lower herself on him, just a little at first, then farther, his hands on her waist lifting her but letting her set the pace. As she approached the peak she leaned forward to change the angle. Hitting the perfect spot, she cried out and her rocking sped up until she toppled over the edge. Her internal tremors, brought him to the edge, he rolled them again so he was on top and with just a few thrusts joined her in ecstasy.

He was supporting his weight on his elbows as he relaxed above her, his face nestled against her neck. She ran her fingers lightly through his hair, enjoying his closeness and stillness. He shifted his head slightly so he could whisper in her ear, "Ready for a shower?"

"Mmm, I'm not sure if I can make it that far." she replied with a soft chuckle. Before she realized what was happening she was in his arms as he strode to the bathroom.

"You're not getting out of it that easy." He grinned at her surprised expression, then his face became more serious. "Besides, I have to go soon."

"Go? Where?"

"Fangtasia, the bar might be closed but there are still things I need to do." He set her down next to the shower controls. "And you need to get some sleep. You'll need your wits about you tomorrow. I'm going to call Pam, I'll be back in in just a few minutes." He gave her a tender kiss then discretely left the room.

She was actually thankful for the privacy and took advantage of it before turning on the water. Within seconds of the shower starting he was back in the room. She stepped into the shower and he followed, already reaching for the shower gel. She grinned as she accepted the bottle from him and lathered up her hands, she loved the feel of his soapy hands gliding over her skin, and her fingers slipping across his muscles. Soon they were both very clean and the bubbles rinsed away, but still their hands roamed over each other. Eric steered her into a corner of the shower, kissing her hungrily. With her back to the corner he picked her up by the waist and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. Lifting her higher he slid inside her, her breath caught as she lowered herself and he filled her. He pulled back and she rose up simultaneously, crashing back into one another in perfect synchronicity. Thrust after thrust they met each other until she cried out with her release and her inner muscles drove him to his.

He leaned into her for a moment, pressing her against the shower wall as the last spasms passed through him. He looked up, brushed the hair from her face and kissed her tenderly before he withdrew and lowered her to stand on her wobbly legs. She swayed against him, still catching her breath. He turned them so they could rinse off, his hands directing the water across her skin. They washed the signs if their lovemaking off each other before Eric turned off the water and dried her with a towel.

She stretched languidly, rolling her head on her neck when something occurred to her. "Eric, you haven't bitten me tonight, or last night either." She took the towel so she could dry him.

"Last night Pam had already bitten you and you were a little shaken. As for tonight I didn't want to drain your strength, before your ...mission tomorrow." She looked to see if he was making fun of her, but he truly looked concerned. "In fact, I think you should have some of my blood." He offered, raising his wrist to his mouth, fangs clicking down.

She grabbed his wrist, and stopped him. "No, I just had some of your blood the other day. I got along fine for over 20 years without it. I don't need it every time I walk out the door."

He cupped her cheek, "How much investigating into supernatural things did you do for that first 20 years?" he asked wryly. "I know you are capable, but you are also mortal, and that means fragile. Now that I have you I don't want to lose you."

"I'm tougher than I look, and I'll keep my mental ears open, if anyone is planning me any harm, I'll high-tail it out of there."

"Make sure you do." He kissed her lightly, opening the shower door. "I'm going to get dressed."

"Okay, I'll be out in a minute." Wrapping the towel around herself, she went over to the vanity and brushed out her hair. She looked at her reflection and bit her lip in indecision, something had been weighing on her. Taking a deep breath, she decided to broach it with Eric.

Leaving the bathroom, she found Eric buttoning the shirt he had been wearing earlier. "Eric, can I talk to you about something?" she asked tentatively.

Her tone visibly concerned him, he walked up to her and put his arms loosely around her. "Anything lover."

"I know it's not my business, Fangtasia is your bar, but..." she took another deep breath, "... you need to pay the waitresses enough to make up for their lost tips." She looked up at him warily, afraid she may have gone too far.

He looked confused. "I'm covering their pay." he offered.

"I know honey, but they make more in tips than they do in pay. They probably aren't going to be able to pay their bills without that money. I'll pitch in my tips from the two nights I worked." She offered out of guilt, she really needed the money too, but the attack was her idea and so it was her fault the waitresses were being short-changed.

"I can cover it, I'll talk to Pam and we will come up with something equitable." He kissed her forehead. "This is what I mean by you giving me the human perspective. Don't be afraid to come to me with things like this."

"I won't." she said with a relieved smile.

"So now I have something to ask you."

"Okay."

"Do you mind if I bring some clothes here?" he grinned lustfully at her. "I know I'm not wearing them very long, but I would like to have something to change into."

That threw her, since this was technically his place, and said as much.

"While you are here, I want you to feel like it's yours. So it's up to you." He pulled her a little closer, "Unless you want to come and stay at my place?"

She had never been invited to his place before, and wasn't sure if she was ready for that, although she couldn't really define why that should be. "Maybe we should wait on that?" she wavered, watching his expression to see if it upset him, but he seemed okay. "The clothes are fine though." she added hastily.

He smiled down at her, "Whatever you're comfortable with." He seemed sincere and she relaxed a little. He sighed. "I've got to go though. Get some sleep." he urged before bending to give her a soft kiss.

She smiled up at him. "I will, wake me when you come in, okay?"

"I will." he promised, a burning ember of passion in his eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

I lied, I know I said I would be posting every night and the next night I didn't. But yesterday was my anniversary (26th) and I didn't get a chance.

Again, these characters and the world belong to Charlaine Harris.

Chapter 18 – Prep work

Sookie had fallen asleep almost immediately. But now she realized the light in the bathroom was on and the door was open, bathing her in soft light. Then she heard a soft scratching noise she couldn't place, wary she opened her eyes the slightest crack and looked out through her lashes, if there was an intruder she didn't want to reveal that she was awake until she could formulate a plan. What she saw was Eric, he had moved the desk chair closer to the bed and was sitting there drawing her.

Without stirring, because she didn't want to ruin his work, she asked softly, "Can I move?"

"Just another minute." he requested. A slight smile on his face.

"Okay." She stayed as still as she could, although now she was extremely self-conscious. Was her hair a mess? Did she have pillow creases across her face? Please, don't let there be drool. His minute seemed longer than that, or maybe it was just how anxious she was, fighting the desire to stretch or scratch her nose, which of course started to itch almost immediately. Finally, the faint scratching stopped.

"There." he said and shifted in his chair, handing her the sketchbook. She stretched and moved into a sitting position so she could look at it better. Turning on the sidetable light so she could see.

If she was a mess, as she had worried, it didn't show in the drawing, She looked peaceful, maybe even blissful, as her mouth was curled into a slight smile. "It's beautiful." she sighed leaning to him for a light kiss.

"Of course, it's you." he murmured against her lips. "I'd like to draw you." He asked, studying her reaction.

Which was confused at first, "You just did..." she began and then she realized he meant nude. "Oh."

"You don't have to decide now. But since it won't be on my phone there is little chance it will get on the internet. In fact, I will hang it in my bedroom, so no one will see it except me, and when you decide to accept my invitation, you."

"I'll think about it." She knew from his other drawings that he could now just draw her from memory, and maybe he would if she said no, but it was nice of him to ask. She wasn't sure about posing for him, a few quick photos were one thing, but sitting naked with him staring at her for long enough for him to complete a drawing made her a little uncomfortable. She decided on a topic change. "How's Thalia doing?"

"Physically, she's better. All of her wounds have healed." He shook his head, "But mentally, she still seems to be in shock. I'm not sure. She has never been fond of humans, almost to the point of being dangerous, so we aren't sure what effect this will have. If she goes feral, we'll have to keep her locked up." He looked grim.

"That's awful. Isn't there anything that can be done for her? Some sort of counseling?" She was sad to think that she saved Thalia, just so she could spend eternity in captivity.

"Traditionally we have not used counseling. Dangerous vampires who drew attention to us, or through their actions risked revealing our existence were brought down. In Thalia's case we would need to find a counsellor who is a vampire, since she is unlikely to listen to a human." He ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. "The old way may have been better."

"I'll keep her in my prayers." Sookie said softly, as she would if she heard any of her friends were sick. Eric raised an eyebrow. She shrugged, "It couldn't hurt." Whether he agreed, or just didn't want to discuss theology, she didn't know, but he let it drop.

"Bobby will be bringing your ID badge over tomorrow, about noon."

"Great. I think I'll get enough sleep that I'll be functional by then." She turned to look at the clock on the nightstand. "What time is it anyway?" The glowing clock face read 4:36.

"You don't need to go back to sleep now, do you?" He smiled as if she already said no, and stood, he started to undress.

Smiling, Sookie got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. "I'll be right back." After taking care of her basic needs, she quickly brushed her teeth before returning to the bedroom. She was surprised when she didn't see him. "Eric?"

He came up behind her silently and wrapped his arms around her. She jumped and gave a startled little cry. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I was putting my clothes in the closet." A hand shifted to cover her heart. "It's beating so fast. I can feel it, hear the blood coursing through your veins," He nuzzled her neck and she was sure he was going to bite her despite what he had said earlier about her needing her strength. "Damn, you are _too_ tempting." He said against her neck, his teeth lightly scraping her skin.

She made as if to pull away. "Should I remove temptation?" she asked coyly.

His arms tightened, "No, let me impress you with my self-control."

They spent the rest of the night giving in to other temptations.

Her alarm went off at nine and she felt surprisingly well-rested. She had gotten close to eight hours of sleep and hadn't slept herself out to the point that she felt sluggish. Extricating herself from Eric's arms, she padded to the bathroom, despite the earlier shower she felt the need for another quick one. She pinned her hair up, the wig would be hot enough without damp hair under it. Under the warm spray she formulated a plan for the day.

She had to be at the apartment to meet Bobby at noon, by the time she dressed, ate and was ready to go it would be close to ten. That should give her plenty of time to run to the store and pick up a set of "teacher's clothes". Since the only conservative top she had packed was the one that she wore for the ID picture, which she thought might look a little suspicious.

Of course, since she was doing something covert, she felt everything seemed suspicious and mentally shook herself to emphasize that most people are not expecting this type of deception in their day-to-day lives. That was her best ally in this situation. On the other hand, if they were involved in the nefarious cosmetics, then they might be paranoid enough to be suspicious. So in short, she had nothing to worry about - unless she had something to worry about. She smiled wryly at her own circular logic. Okay, what she needed to do was go in there and look and sound like she knew what she was doing. Then it occurred to her that she should be carrying something, a notebook or binder of some type, preferably something that looked like it was well-used. But where could she get something like that so soon.

As much as she hated to do it, since they weren't each other's favorite people, she ended up calling Bobby as soon as she was dressed.

"I told Eric I would have the ID to you by noon." was how he answered the phone.

Biting back a sarcastic reply since she was about to ask for a favor, she overlooked his rudeness. "Hi Bobby, yes he told me, thanks. I was hoping you could help me with something else."

"Why?" she expected 'what' not 'why'.

"Why what?"

"Why should I do something else for you? I don't work for you." My, he was in a fine mood this morning.

"Because I am doing this for Eric and you _do_ work for him." Why couldn't he just be helpful and courteous?

"Tell me what you need." he grumbled.

"Well, you know I'm posing as a teacher, so I thought it might be good if I were carrying a notebook or binder or something, but it has to look well-worn and maybe have some printed pages in it. Do you have anything I can use?"

"I'll look and see what I can find." he said grudgingly.

"I need to run some other errands anyway, would it help if I came to you to pick the ID and binder up?" She hoped that would appease him a little.

"No, I'll bring it to you." He sounded very put out, but she thought he wanted to feel that way. There's no pleasing some people.

"Thanks so much Bobby." she gushed before hanging up. She would be sure to be here when Bobby arrived, no sense adding fuel to the fire of his dislike of her.

She fixed herself a quick breakfast, savoring her first cup of coffee.

Remembering her promise to call Sam, she poured herself another cup of coffee before doing so,

"Hey Sookie." Sam answered.

"Hi Sam." It was nice to hear a voice that was happy it was her. "My check-in call as promised." she said cheerfully, so it wouldn't sound like a bother.

"Just looking out for my best waitress, who I want back." Emphasizing the final clause.

"I should be back in a few days if my lead pans out."

"You're being careful, right? No unnecessary risks."

"No unnecessary risks, I'm going to a place of business in the middle of the day. I should be fine." she assured him.

"You better be. Any fallout from the attack?"

"No, at least not that I know of. Eric went in to the bar last night, but he didn't mention anything." She would have to remember to ask him tonight. "Was there something else in the paper?"

"No, just curious." he didn't sound overly concerned, so she took him at his word.

"Well, I have to go to the store before I go on my covert op this afternoon." She said with a chuckle.

"Okay, I'll hear from you tomorrow?" he made it a question.

"Yes, I will call you after breakfast. Bye Sam." Genuine warmth in her voice.

"Bye Sook, see you soon."

She washed her dishes, then put on some light make-up. Making sure her keys were in her purse she headed for the elevator, planning to check in with Claudine before picking up a teacher's outfit. However, when she got to the customer service counter Claudine was not there. A brief exchange with the grumpy woman, who had been there the other day, let her know it was Claudine's day off. Sookie contemplated calling her, but she really had nothing new to report and figured that if Claudine did, she would call.

Finding an outfit was harder than she had guessed. She had to fight the impulse to buy a very old-fashioned dress. She opted instead for navy slacks, which she knew she had a belt that would work with them, and a yellow, long-sleeved oxford shirt that buttoned up the front. She rarely wore yellow, but she thought with her brunette wig it might look nice. She would wear the shirt buttoned high, but could loosen a button if she wanted to be more distracting. Satisfied with her outfit, she contemplated picking up a new purse, she thought maybe a large, shapeless bag that she could hide stuff in. Either stashing something that might be evidence, or smuggling in a weapon. Not that she had one. She went over to sporting goods and picked up a large Swiss army knife. That seemed like a fairly practical thing that a teacher might carry. To fill up the purse she picked up sample sizes hand lotion, hand sanitizer, some band-aids, antibiotic ointment, and tissue pack. She got a little clear pouch to put some of it in so the contents wouldn't be too much of a mess.

Happy with her purchases she glanced at her watch, she was going to be hard-pressed to get back to the apartment to meet up with Bobby. Fortunately, she was now familiar enough with the route from the mall to the apartment that the trip back didn't take too long. She might have been in the apartment for all of two minutes before her phone rang. The caller ID told her it was Eric's day man.

"Hi Bobby." She answered brightly.

"I just wanted to warn you, I'm coming up."

"Oh." She hadn't realized he had a key, but thought she probably should have. "Okay, come on ... up." The elevator doors had opened midsentence. Not much warning, she thought. Good thing I don't walk around naked.

"Here." He shoved a binder and an envelope in her general direction, not bothering to leave the elevator.

She hurried across the room, wondering if his mother had tried to teach him common courtesy or if he was raised by gibbons. "Thanks, Bobby." She offered as she took the items.

"Yeah, just remember that I don't work for you. I take my orders from Eric." He moved his foot so the elevator doors would close.

"You have a nice day too Bobby." she supplied sarcastically as the doors closed. She had a brief urge to tell Eric what a jerk he was being, knowing it would get Bobby fired, but told herself she was a better person than that. Not that he wouldn't try to undermine her, if he thought he could get away with it, but she wouldn't sink to his level.

She made a half a sandwich, she was nervous and didn't think she could eat more than that but knew an empty stomach wasn't a happy stomach.

The binder that Bobby had brought looked used and was full of various papers. There were no empty sheets so she would have to pick up some paper if she wanted to write notes. It had no outer label so she didn't have to worry about removing that. Flipping quickly through the pages she made sure on casual glance that nothing would ring any alarm bells or be obviously not teacher-related.

She wanted to "age" her other recent purchases. Feeling wasteful, she squeezed out a little from each little jar or tube. But she thought they still looked too new, she hurried back to the bathroom and fished her nail file out of her cosmetic bag. Going back to the living area she used it to rub off parts of the label and scuff up the containers. She also scuffed up the swiss army knife. Not completely satisfied, but again reminding herself that no one was going to be inspecting her that closely, she decided it was good enough. After all, if they were really suspicious it would just take one good yank on her wig to give her away.

Packing her purse, she tried to decide if she should bring her wallet with her real ID and decided that she didn't want to risk getting pulled over without it.

Okay, her props were ready, now she had to be. She got out her new clothes and went through them carefully to get all the tags off. She would really have liked to have a chance to iron them, but they would have to do. She got dressed quickly, then started pinning her hair up to hide it under the wig. Finally she was able to fit the wig on, making sure none of her blond hair poked through. She applied her makeup lightly, as she thought a school teacher should, whether they do or not she didn't know. Gathering all her props, she looked at herself in the mirror. While it was not as complete a disguise as Desirée, she was pretty sure that someone who didn't know her well or who had just seen her photo wouldn't recognize her.

It was now close to 2:30, which should get her to the factory by 3:00. Leaving a quick note for Eric telling him what time she left, she headed for the elevator. The drive there was fairly direct, but she was concentrating on the directions so much that she almost forgot that she needed to stop and get paper until she was passing a big office supply place. Turning on the next street, she went around the block to get back to it. Once she bought the paper, she took the time to put some in her binder, writing on a few sheets and softening the edges.

Before restarting the car she practiced out loud, what she had said in her head a hundred times. "Hi, I'm Christie Hampton, I teach science at Caddo Middle School." Taking a deep breath she started the car. "Alright Christie, let's go arrange a field trip."


	19. Chapter 19

Finally finished with all the proofreading so I am posting the final chapters.

As always I don't own the world or the characters, I just take them out on playdates.

Chapter 19 - Avalon

The chemistry company wasn't what Sookie expected. She was looking for a big, old building maybe with smokestacks. What she found was a sprawling complex of fairly new white buildings. She parked in an unmarked space, assuming the numbered spaces were assigned to employees. Checking her wig in the rearview mirror, she gathered up her stuff and headed to the easily identified front entrance. Inside was a small lobby, that consisted of a reception desk and a small seating area with only two chairs. Apparently they didn't get a lot of visitors, maybe just vendors.

Walking up to the desk, the older, handsome woman sitting there looked somewhat startled by her presence. "Welcome to Avalon Chemicals. May I help you?"

"Hi." Sookie fought to keep her smile reasonable, she held up her ID badge briefly. "I'm Christie Hampton, I teach science at Caddo Middle School. I was wondering if it would be possible to arrange a field trip for my advanced class."

"Um, I don't know if we do field trips. Can you sign our guest book and I'll check?" She stood and pushed the sign-in book toward her, offering a pen.

"Sure, then should I have a seat?" Sookie took the pen, she hadn't even thought about maybe having to sign the name.

"Yes, that would be fine." The receptionist replied.

Sookie took a deep breath and took a stab at signing, it was harder than she thought. Signatures look very different from a normal written word. She made the capital "C" fairly large and followed it with a squiggled line that started high and had another highpoint near the end, dotting and crossing with a flourish. The last name was a little easier now that she had determined to make the signature illegible. Of course it would have to do, but she wasn't completely unsatisfied with it. She sat down and opened the notebook. She jotted down the fact that she came in and signed in. She really didn't have anything to write yet, but she wanted to look busy.

The receptionist came back out and Sookie started to stand, the older woman stopped her with a motion. "Our Director, Dr. Carbonne, will see you soon."

"Thank you." She settled back down into the chair.

She wrote down that name, trying not to look too anxious and repeating to herself, for about the hundredth time to keep the crazy smile off her face.

After about 5 minutes, which seemed much longer, a man in his mid-forties came out. He was dressed in a dark blue polo shirt and khaki pants, with a labcoat over top. His hair was dark brown with just a touch of grey at the temples. He was clean-shaven and had wire frame glasses, overall he wasn't unattractive. She stood as he came in, offering her hand.

He greeted her with a smile, that pushed him into the attractive bracket, and shook her hand. "Hello, I'm Dr. Carbonne, but call me Jerry."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Jerry. Christie Hampton, call me Christie." She smiled back, he was thinking he wished he had had such a pretty science teacher, but not in a lecherous way. He seemed genuinely happy to meet her and was surprised he hadn't thought of the idea of hosting school field trips. She actually felt guilty deceiving him in this way, but pressed on. "Thank you for seeing me without an appointment. I wasn't sure when I would be able to get out here, but since I had a training day that ended early I decided to take my chances."

"Not a problem, please come to my office." He indicated the doorway he had come through. "Can I offer you anything to drink?"

"Just some water would be fine. Thank you." She started toward the doorway.

He looked at the receptionist. "Rita, can you bring Miss Hampton some water?"

"Yes, Dr. Carbonne."

Jerry Carbonne's office was probably very nicely furnished, but it was hard to tell as every horizontal surface was covered in books, lab books, and papers. He looked embarrassed as he had to pick up some very large books from the guest chair before she could sit down. "Sorry, I'm working on filing a patent and it takes a lot of background research. Please, have a seat."

"Thank you." She looked around at the clutter, nothing jumped out and said 'formula to drive vampires crazy'. "Can I ask what the patent is about?"

"It's for a protective skin film for people with severe contact allergies. It isn't a huge market, but we received a research grant to develop it and we get to keep the intellectual property rights." He shrugged, "You can't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Sounds interesting." It really did. "Is that what you do here mostly? Sponsored research?"

Jerry moved behind his desk and sat down. "We do have several R&D labs. We also do small batch manufacturing for proof of concept and clinical trial runs." He leaned back in his chair. "You know, I had never thought of offering field trips, but it is a great idea. We need to encourage kids to go into science. What kind of tour were you thinking of?"

"Well, I have 25 kids in my advanced class, kids who are really good at science but most don't see what they can do in it. They think if they go into chemistry or biology that the only thing for them is working at a university, so I want to show them some possibilities in the private sector." She paused for breath. "But I will need to take the whole class at once, so I am not sure if there are any areas that so many people can tour at once, safely of course."

He seemed to consider that. "The main production floors are viewable from behind a large observation window, so those are safe. We can always arrange for a lab tour, where nothing dangerous is happening, in fact, for the most part, the majority of the work here is fairly safe. We aren't working with any pathogens and we don't make explosives. All of the labs are properly ventilated and we adhere to all the OSHA workplace safety rules." He stood up, "Would you like a quick tour?"

"That would be wonderful, but I would hate to take you away from your work." She was really hoping he would ask, but she had to mind her manners.

"Nonsense, I could use a break from all of this." His hand indicated the cluttered desk and the computer screen.

"Then I would be honored." She stood and smiled.

Dr. Carbonne seemed to know what was going on in every room and building he took her in, which was quite a few, but not everywhere. There were a couple of rooms they by-passed without comment, almost pointedly so. And she noticed that there were at least 2 buildings they avoided. Of course, none of the labs they visited had a fairy chained up in the corner with a needle in their arm. Nor did anything say supernatural R&D.

He also took the time to introduce her to many of the scientists they passed. She knew she wouldn't remember their names and often didn't understand their titles. She took a quick read on each person whose hand she shook. No one seemed suspicious of her presence and many were very enthusiastic about the possibility of hosting students. She thought she was onto something when she met a young researcher whose mind told her it was trying to hide something, but pushing a little deeper she found that his research wasn't working out and he was trying to keep that fact from Dr. Carbonne.

Sookie had a growing sense of disappointment that she was not going to be able to meet Dr. Taggert and that this whole ruse had been a bust when she passed an office with a name plate that said A. Taggert, PhD.. She paused and asked Jerry, "That isn't Austin Taggert is it?"

He stopped and looked at the office door. "No Arthur, why?"

"At LSU I had a chemistry professor named Austin Taggert, he made chemistry so interesting I almost switched from being an education major. It was because of him that I decided to become a science teacher though."

"I don''t think Arthur ever taught, except maybe as a grad student. We got him straight out of college. He's been with us for about 12 years now." Sookie was getting a wave of disappointment, apparently Taggert had been a good researcher and generally nice person until about 3 years prior. Since that time he has been angry a lot, and his work had fallen off. Jerry was sad about this because he was afraid that he would have to let him go.

"That's quite a while."

"Yes, he's done some good work for us." he said out loud, but finished in his head with 'just not lately'.

She hadn't found out anything except Taggert's first name, she had really hoped to find out more, what exactly she wasn't sure and she could tell from the direction they were heading that the tour was probably almost done.

They were passing a large lab when she spotted him. He was running some sort of machine and recording readings she recognized him from the visual she had pulled from Alex. She was pretty sure he was in earshot. She paused in the hall outside the door turning to the director. "I just remembered, I wanted to ask to see if you made any cosmetics?"

"No, not currently." No red flags were going off in his head, but they were in Taggert's. His head jerked in her direction and the machine ran on without him taking his readings. He was obviously trying to listen to what she was saying. "Several years ago we did some small batch manufacturing for a customer, but they went out of business. Why?"

"I thought it might get the girls interested. You know, at this age, make-up and boys are all they think about." she laughed. Taggert was sweating bullets, he wanted to get away to call someone.

Dr. Carbonne chuckled, "My daughter is just reaching that age, so I know what you mean." She really liked him and again felt a pang at this deception. But since he had a fox in his henhouse and didn't know it, in the long run she might be doing him a favor.

They were back near his office, when a melodic voice came out of a nearby office. "There you are Jerry, I wanted to talk to you about the last batch of samples." the woman coming out of the office was tall and lovely, with flowing red hair that didn't come out of a bottle. She had a dazzling smile, but stopped short when she saw he had company. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were with someone." She smiled and extended her hand to Sookie. "I'm Aine Summers." It was pronounced Awn+ye with the last syllable almost not there. She had a slight accent that Sookie thought might be a touch of Irish.

Sookie reached out with her hand and her mind towards her. And was startled when she got nothing. It wasn't the void that a vampire mind left, she could tell a mind was there it was just closed to her. "Very nice to meet you." she replied automatically, "I'm Christie Hampton." She could feel the woman's smile seeping into her, trying to spread it's cheer. This woman was fae, she was almost sure of it.

"Miss Hampton is a science teacher," Dr. Carbonne supplied, "we're arranging for her class to have a field trip here."'

"What a wonderful idea. It's so important for the young to learn from their elders." The fae woman supplied. She was eying Sookie oddly.

"What do you do here Dr. Summers?" Sookie supplied the honorific since just about everyone who she had met here had the degree.

"It's Ms Summers, but you can call me Aine. I am the liaison for one of the groups sponsoring research here." She shifted her gaze from Sookie to her associate. "Jerry, it wasn't important. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Miss Hampton, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Sookie replied as the woman turned to go.

"She seems nice." Sookie said simply. When no reply came she glanced at Jerry and saw that he seemed pleasantly daydreaming, a smile on his lips, his eyes vacant. "Jerry?"

He seemed to snap out of it, "Sorry, lost in thought. Let's sit down and see if we can find a date that will work for your field trip."

Approaching Rita's desk, Sookie saw that Taggert was talking to the receptionist. He was standing at the counter, leaning on it. Absentmindedly flipping the pages of the guestbook, as if it was just something to do with his hands. When he saw her and Dr. Carbonne he bid the woman good night and headed out the door.

Jerry and Sookie returned to his office, and there was Sookie's glass of water, Rita must have brought it soon after they left the office, which glancing at her watch, she discovered it was almost two hours ago. It was after five o'clock, Eric would be up within an hour. "I didn't realize it was so late. I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?" looking very apologetic.

"No, my wife will tell you, I never leave at five." He sat down at his computer and tapped a few keys, gesturing that she should take the chair. "Let's see when we can do this."

She opened her notebook and wished she had thought to bring a calendar page. "It will have to be next month at the earliest, I have to file paperwork with the district and then I will need to get the permission slips out." She hoped that sounded reasonable.

"Any day of the week you prefer?" He asked as he reviewed his calendar for the following month.

"Thursday works best generally." She grabbed a day at random and hoped he wouldn't ask why.

"Well a month from now we have an FDA inspection, how about the Thursday after?" he tilted his screen so she could see his calendar.

"That looks great." She jotted the date down in her notebook. "Thank you so much." She stood, "I won't take anymore of your time today." She offered him her hand.

He stood and picked up a business card. "Here, call me if we have to change dates." He handed it to her. "And how can I reach you?"

"Oh yeah." She opened the notebook. "That would help wouldn't it?" She quickly wrote Christie Hampton on the top of the page and her cellphone number beneath it. Ripping out the page, she handed it to him. "Sorry, we don't get business cards, budget cuts."

He looked at it, "Do you have an email?"

"Sure," she took back the paper and wrote 'champton ' before handing it back. "There you go."

He placed the paper on his keyboard. "Let me walk you out." He indicated she should proceed him through the door.

"Thank you." She said as she left the office. Rita was no longer at her desk, she must leave at five. He held the outside door for her. Sookie blinked at the sun, a handspan from the horizon. The parking lot was largely empty now. She turned to face her host. "I am so glad I took my chances and stopped by. I think this will be a great field trip for my kids."

"I'm glad you came in too. I'll let you know what plan I come up with for your visit."

"I'll look forward to it. Bye now."

"Bye." he waved at her and then went back inside.

She fished her phone out of her purse and sent a text to Eric: _Heading back now._

Getting into her car she looked at the directions she had printed out. Since she was unfamiliar with this part of Shreveport she was going to follow the directions in reverse to get back to the apartment. It was her preoccupation with checking the route that kept her from noticing that the same vehicle was behind her until she was back in a familiar part of town. She only happened to notice it then when she decided to pull into a fastfood drive-thru. It was a last minute decision, so she turned pretty quickly, glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure she wasn't about to be hit. A big, red, Ford pick-up was behind her. The driver and his companion looked angry at her, but drove on. But once she pulled out after getting her food, the truck pulled out of the next parking lot, right behind her. She was immediately on alert. After making a few random turns to see if they stayed with her, which they did, she determined two things, one, they were definitely following her, and two, they weren't very good at it, which made her hope she would be able to lose them.

The first thing she wanted to do was lead them away from the apartment. Since she was fairly close already she turned east which was roughly perpendicular to the building. She tried to think of how to shake them. She would have to try to fake them out into a turn, or run a red light. Both of which she worried might cause an accident that would hurt innocent people. She moved to the middle lane, from which she could possibly cut across a lane and turn either way. Then she saw a sign indicating a police station was up ahead. She quickly moved back into the right lane, and turned into the station parking lot. The pick-up slowed and pulled into one of the parallel parking spaces along the street. She got out of her car and looked around. The men, she could now see them clearly, they were two white men in their early twenties, were watching her but didn't get out of their vehicle.

She saw two police officers talking to each other by the front doors. She waved at them, "Excuse me officers?" she called out, trying to put a little concern in her voice. "Can you help me?" She was calling loud enough that she knew the guys in the pick-up could hear. She reached out for their minds. They were near-panicked. Their orders were to follow her and see where she was going, but they didn't expect any police involvement.

The police were walking over to her. "What's the problem miss?" the younger one asked,

She put on her best damsel-in-distress face and dropped her voice so her pursuers could no longer eavesdrop. "I'm sorry, I don't come into town often and I've gotten all turned around. Is LSU that way?" That gave her the opportunity to point in the direction of the pick-up truck, making the officers turn in that direction. As soon as they did, the pick-up pulled out of its spot, almost hitting a car in their hurry to get out of police view.

"No, I'm sorry miss, you _are_ turned around. You need to go back that-a-way …" he proceeded to give her directions, which she repeated back and nodded to.

"Thank you so much. You are a lifesaver, no telling how long I would have been driving." She got back in her car and pulled out in the direction the police had indicated. She seemed to have shaken her tail, but drove around for a little while to make sure she wasn't mistaken. She jumped about 2 feet when her phone rang. Catching a look at the display she saw that it was Eric.

"Hi, honey." she said as she answered it.

"Are you alright? I just woke up and I can feel that you are worried. You should be back by now."

"I'm fine, I was being followed but I lost them. I'm just a couple of minutes away. Look, the traffic is pretty heavy so I am going to hang up. See you in a couple of minutes." She hung up without waiting for a response. She hated when people talked on their phones while driving, and she hated when she did it herself. The sun was just barely above the horizon so he still wouldn't be able to come to her rescue.

After one last turn to be positive that no one was following her, she headed to the apartment. Despite that, she still hurried from her car to the door, her now cold food in hand, only relaxing as the elevator doors closed and the key was turned.


	20. Chapter 20

Finally finished with all the proofreading so I am posting the final chapters.

As always I don't own the world or the characters, I just take them out on playdates.

Chapter 20 - Reward

Eric was at the doors as they parted, he pulled her to him, hugging her then holding her by her shoulders so he could look her in the eyes. "Are you okay?" he was dressed in his usual black beater and jeans.

"Yes, I'm fine. The guys following me were amateurs and their directions were just to find out where I was going. I was able to get rid of them by pulling into a police station." She smiled wryly at him. "I think I kicked an anthill."

He looked confused, so she explained the idiom. "It's when you go into a quiet situation and create chaos. Some ants start putting things to right, redigging the hole, but others run out to bite the kicker." She shrugged, "It's pretty much what happened in Dallas. Except then, the ants knew I was coming."

"Come, sit down, tell me what you found out." He took her hand and started to lead her to one of the couches.

"Oh wait." She pulled her hand out of his, the held it palm up to him. "Smell my hand."

"All right, I'll bite." He grinned and bent his head over her hand.

"I'm well aware of that." she said with a grin.

"Fairy." he said after a deep inhalation, "Neither Claudine nor Claude."

"That's what I thought, I couldn't read her and she had the same dazzling smile as Claudine. She said her name was Aine Summers. Do you know her?"

"No, so a fairy is working there?" He smelled her hand again. "Maybe the one from the mall, but it's too faint." He looked concerned, but led her back to the couch.

She set her food on the low coffee table. "Do you mind if I eat while I talk?"

"No, go ahead." he seemed impatient for the story.

"She said she is a liaison with a company providing research money. Jerry Carbonne, the Director didn't disagree with her, although I doubt he could if he wanted to." At his questioning look she clarified. "She just dazzles him with her smile and he's pretty gone." She took a bite of her chicken sandwich.

"Is he in on it?"

She shook her head emphatically. "No, he was easy to read. He's exactly what he says he is, the director of a chemistry company. He was very nice and enthusiastic. I felt pretty bad deceiving him. He really seems to be looking forward to hosting a field trip."

"What about Taggert, was he there?" Eric obviously had no trouble with the deception.

"He was there, I saw him, and got a good read on him. He freaked when I asked if the plant produces cosmetics." She paused while she continued to eat. "He's close to being fired. He's worked there for the past 12 years and was really good at his job, but for the past 3years or so his attitude and work has gone downhill." She finished her sandwich. "I would sure like to know what happened to cause that."

"Without knowing more about him it would be hard to say." he looked thoughtful.

She started digging through the huge purse for her phone. "I'm going to call Claudine and see if she knows Aine. I think she could tell I'm different and since I couldn't read her, I don't know what her involvement is." She looked at Eric curiously. "Are there bad fairies?"

He rolled his eyes, "Lover, there are fairies out there that make me look like a saint." His voice became seductive and he moved closer to her. "You did a wonderful job." he smiled proudly at her. "Call Claudine after you get your reward."

"Hmm, would that be a medal?" she mused as she took his hands and straddled his lap.

He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. "No, not a medal." he murmured before kissing along her jawline.

"Maybe a plaque, with my name engraved on it?" She released his hands and moved hers to his shoulders.

"Not a plaque." he whispered into her ear, before catching the lobe with his blunt teeth.

Her breath caught. "Ooh, I know, the key to the city?" One of her hands moved to the back of his head, her fingers getting lost in his hair.

His hands began unbuttoning her blouse. "You're out of guesses." He said against her neck, his mouth trailing a path of fire across her skin. He finished the buttons and one hand came up to the back of her head. He stilled and pulled his head back.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her mind already cloudy with passion.

"Take the wig off." he said flatly, almost a command.

"Right now?" she asked, she didn't want the interruption.

"I want to see you, my lover, no false persona when I am having you." His eyes were intense.

"Alright." she agreed. The faster she did it the sooner she could get her reward. She backed off his lap and stood. Reaching up to unpin the wig. Removing it she put it down gently over the arm of a nearby chair, then starting unpinning her own hair. He watched as she released each tendril, until she was able to shake her hair free. "How's that?"

"Much better, now take off your clothes." This was more of a coax than a command.

Her cheeks flamed. She had never stripped in front of someone before. Sure she had been naked with both Eric and Bill, but the clothes were either already gone, like in the shower, or came off as part of the process as it were. Standing here and stripping in front of him seemed different somehow. "Umm." she stammered.

He smiled, "Don't be embarrassed. Just look me in the eye and slowly take off your clothes. I won't even break eye contact."

"If you aren't going to look then why?" It didn't make any sense to her.

"Humor me." he urged, his eyes already locked on hers.

"Okay." She looked at him as she undid the buttons at her cuffs. Then she shrugged out of the shirt, rounding her shoulders, feeling a little shameless.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, you are beautiful, and besides, I'm not looking." It was true, he hadn't broken eye contact.

She straightened, then stepped out of her shoes. She was glad that she hadn't worn socks, she didn't want to have to bend over to take them off and she thought nothing looked stupider than the naked-except-for-socks look. Her hands went to her belt, her fingers were shaking a little and she was having a little trouble with the buckle. She bent her head to look at what she was doing, actually a little relieved to break eye contact.

"If you stop looking at me, my eyes will start to wander." he warned.

Her head popped up, sure enough his eyes were roaming her body. Fine! If that was how he was going to be. She glared at him and cleared her throat. "Ahem!"

With a sparkle in his eyes, he looked into hers again. He was laughing at her, she thought, he didn't think she was going to be able to do this, that she would chicken out. She decided to show him. She undid the belt quickly, and pulled it out of the loops with a hard yank. Tossing it onto the other couch in the setting. She unfastened the hook on her slacks and slid down the zipper forcing herself to do it slowly. Hooking her thumbs into the waistband she slowly lowered them down, bending at the waist, but keeping her face on Eric. Despite the good view of her bosom she was providing, Eric kept his eyes fixed on hers. She straightened, stepping out of the pants. Reaching behind her with both hands she unbuckled her bra, letting it relax, she slowly slid each strap down. Taking a deep breath she lowered it, exposing her breasts. True to his word, he kept his eyes raised, although she could see the muscles in his jaw flexing.

She stood before him in nothing but her panties. She was a little taken aback at her own brazenness, but really turned on, and a little proud of herself. She found herself a little irritated at Eric for again tricking her into being more bold. She decided to make it a little harder for him to keep his promise. She brought her hands up, lifting her hair up off her neck and tilting her head to the side. Lowering her hair, her fingers traced the path of her jugular.

Passion flared in his eyes, and he licked his lips, but didn't shift his eyes away from hers. She let her hands trail over her body, just lightly, as they made their way down to her remaining garment. She stretched out the elastic and slowly pushed them down, again leaning towards him. His fangs were down, his tongue tracing them, but his eyes remained fixed. Just as she was straightening to step out of them she heard a faint whirring behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the shutters were opening, apparently on their own. She let out a little shriek and jumped onto the couch, curled into a ball.

"Can you close those?" she asked into the cushion.

"The glass is shaded, no one can see in." He put a hand on her back. "Besides, we're up higher than the nearby buildings."

She lifted her head, relaxing a little. "Are you sure?" She looked at him and slapped his arm. "You're laughing at me!" she accused.

"You just boldly stripped in front of me, and yet you curl up in a little ball at the thought of an open window." His eyes sparkled with mirth.

"There's a difference!" she insisted.

"If you say so." He leaned in and kissed her shoulder, he shifted onto the floor behind her, kissing towards her neck, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her against him. She leaned back against him, her arm reaching back around his head. His hands moved up to cover her breasts, kneading them and teasing the nipples into hard points. He kissed up the side of her neck to whisper in her ear. "Next time, I'm going to watch."

She smiled, "Who said there's going to be a next time." she taunted, but her expression said there would. "Besides, it's your turn next."

"I thought you'd never ask." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, then stood so fast she would have fallen backwards off the couch if he hadn't steadied her. He took a step back. "_Don't_ watch my eyes." he said with a wink.

She turned on the couch to face him, shifting a little, as uncomfortable at the thought of watching him strip as she was stripping herself.

He stood proudly in front of her, not a trace of embarrassment or shame on his face. He looked at her intently as he began to pull the bottom of his shirt up. She tried to look him in the eye, because she thought it would be less embarrassing, but his look was so intense she couldn't hold his gaze and she looked down. That's when she fixated on his hands, which had slid under the bottom edge of his shirt and were moving slowly across his taut abdomen. She found her fingers clenching, wanting to displace his hands themselves. Slowly, his hands moved up his torso, pushing the shirt higher as they went. Just as they reached the bottom of his pecs, he ripped the shirt down the middle, causing her to jump.

She looked up at his face again and he had a slight smirk. She knew he could tell how turned on she was. She shifted so she was sitting on her legs, because she didn't want to get the couch wet, a very real possibility in her current state.

The movement of his right hand caught her attention, he placed it, fingers pointing down and spread apart, in the middle of his chest and rubbed it down his body to the top of his pants. His other hand met it there and he slowly undid his belt. Once unbuckled, he took his time pulling it from the loops, until the end when he pulled it so fast it snapped like a whip and she gasped in surprise. Only then did she realize she had been holding her breath. He tossed the belt to join hers on the other couch.

She was mesmerized by every movement of his hands, she bit her lip in anticipation. His hands went to the button of his jeans and he undid it with a jerk, then he slowly pulled the zipper down. He moaned as his gracious plenty was released from its denim confines, it was obvious that he was as aroused by this as she was. She wanted to reach out and wrap her hands around him so badly, that she had to clasp her hands together to stop herself. As if he could read her mind, his hand did what she wanted to do, encircling his shaft and slowly stroking it until it came to full attention. She licked her lips and squirmed in her seat, it took all her will power not to jump him.

He let go of his manhood and hooked his thumbs into two belt loops of his jeans. He pivoted then, turning his back to her as he lowered his pants, revealing his magnificent ass at such a slow rate that it was sheer torment. He was adding to her torment by flexing his sculpted muscles, then he bent at the waist to pull the pants lower and she had to bite back a moan herself. She thought she might have heard him chuckle but he didn't turn, instead he sank to a crouch, obviously just for her benefit as he rose again to step out of the pants, but the way his muscles moved was breathtaking. Her will power snapped and she slid onto the floor on her knees to grab his butt with both hands, squeezing it, then leaned forward to bite it lightly, which she had been wanting to do since that night she had walked in on him dressing.

"I take it you enjoyed that?" he said with a chuckle, as he twisted at the waist to look down at her.

"God yes!" she gasped against his skin, still kissing and nipping at his ass. He let her continue for a few moments, making little sounds of pleasure at her actions, then he slid a hand under her chin and lifted her face. She looked up and saw that his eyes burned with passion and hunger.

"My turn." he whispered with a wicked smile. Then with a burst of vampire speed he picked her up and she found herself kneeling on the couch, facing the back of it. He was behind her kneeling on the ground and his hands were on her butt as he nipped it. "Your ass has always looked delicious. Now I am going to find out if it is." he purred to her.

His powerful fingers kneaded her muscles, almost painfully, then she felt him lick up her cleft and she moaned. That shouldn't feel so good, she thought to herself, but couldn't deny that it did. He repeated it, this time his hands had pulled her cheeks back so his tongue went deeper and her whole body shuddered with the pleasure of it. One hand shifted between her legs, seeking out her pleasure center and teasing it lightly.

"Yes!" she cried, then she bit the back cushion of the sofa to muffle the shriek as his fangs sank deep into her asscheek. As he sucked on the thin flow of blood, he brought the other hand around the front to take over stimulating her nub so he could plunge his fingers into her dripping core. She bucked back against them, grunting into the cushion. He started a frantic rhythm, thrusting in and out of her as his other hand worked her nerve bundle. Almost immediately she was at the edge, she felt him lick his bite and as she felt the tingle of his blood mix with hers, she fell over into ecstasy.

As the world came back into focus, she found her forehead resting against the back of the couch as Eric kissed the back of her neck. She could feel him pressed along her back and leaned back against him."Mmm, that was better than a medal." she murmured.

"Your reward isn't over yet." turning her head he kissed her hungrily. One hand went to her breast, teasing her nipple into a hard bud. He broke off the kiss, staring into her eyes as a finger of his other hand traced her lips, she leaned forward and sucked it into her mouth discovering it was covered in her own fluids. He nuzzled back to her ear, "I told you you were delicious." he whispered. He nipped at her earlobe and her breath caught. He pulled his finger out of her mouth, his hand trailed down her body, until it parted her again and started circling her nubbin.

"Oh, God, Eric." she panted. She moved her head forward to bite the cushion again but he pulled her back.

"I want to hear you shout my name in ecstasy." he said in her ear, sending goosebumps across her skin. He shifted back and down, as he came back up he entered her and she moaned.

"That's not going to be a problem." she said with a raspy chuckle as he began thrusting.

He was kissing the column of her neck, his fangs dragging across her skin. She brought one arm up around his head, her fingers burying in his hair. Her other arm was braced against the couch, to keep from being driven into it. With each thrust he sucked on the skin over her vein, tantalizing her with the expectation of a bite. The rhythm drove her, it took over her movements, her breathing, her thoughts, until there was nothing but the crescendo of their joining. She was so close, another few beats away, she started gasping his name, "Eric...please...bite me now...Eric!" His fangs slid into her, but so smoothly, there was more pleasure than pain and that launched her into rapture with his name on her lips and his teeth at her throat.

The bite was already healed by the time she could think clearly again. Eric was shifting them, he was lying on the couch, his head and shoulders propped on one arm. Her head was on his chest and she was lying on her back between his legs.

"I'm not smushing you am I?" she asked languidly, her hand brushing his arm.

"No, don't you dare move." He moved his other arm across her chest possessively.

"I don't think I could." she chuckled, bending her head to kiss his arm.

"Good." He seemed content to just hold her.

"Eric?" she began.

"Yes lover?"

"Remind me to do a wonderful job again." He chuckled and held her close.


	21. Chapter 21

Finally finished with all the proofreading so I am posting the final chapters.

As always I don't own the world or the characters, I just take them out on playdates.

Chapter 21 - Ants Bite

She was still there, relaxed and sated, ten minutes later when her phone rang causing her to jump since it was buried in the couch beneath her. She dug beneath the cushion and fished out the phone and looked at the screen,

"It's Bobby, why would he be calling me?" she asked Eric, who only shrugged.

"Hi Bobby, what's up?" Feeling strangely embarrassed to be naked while talking on the phone.

"Where are you?" He sounded agitated.

"At the apartment, what's wrong?"

"Turn on the local news." She rolled her eyes at his unhelpful answer. She gestured for Eric to turn on the TV. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table. She mouthed local news to him and he flipped channels.

"What am I looking for?" she asked the day man. Then she saw the caption under the field reporter. 'Local Middle School Teacher Abducted at Gunpoint'. "Never mind, I think I found it. Thanks Bobby." She ended the call. "Turn it up." She told Eric.

She listened to the story with a growing guilt. About half an hour ago, masked gunmen broke in the door at the real Christie Hampton's house and dragged her out at gunpoint, in front of her husband and 2 young children. So far no one knows why she was taken, by whom or where. Police have no leads.

She hadn't realized tears were streaming down her cheeks until Eric took her in his arms. "Eric we have to find her. It's my fault she was taken." She pushed against him. "No, if you hold me I'm going to start crying, then I'll be no good to her." She grabbed her clothes. "I'm going to call Claudine while I'm getting dressed."

She went straight into the bathroom, splashing water on her face, she looked at herself judgmentally in the mirror. Her guilt had turned to anger, but not only at the abductors, but also at herself. This was all her fault. She thought she was so clever, stealing the identity of a real teacher. She hadn't even thought what repercussions that might have. Then after kicking the anthill did she start formulating a plan of action? No, she was too busy doing a striptease for Eric. She tore the brush through her hair, before pulling it back into a tight ponytail.

Setting her jaw she vowed to rescue Christie, and anyone in her way better watch out. She turned at the soft knock on the bathroom door.

"Sookie," Eric called tentatively through the door. "Do you have a plan?"

She strode over to the door, pulling it open, Eric was standing there, fully dressed, his face expressionless. "Go back to the anthill. It's a place to start. Can you have Bobby see if he can find out Arthur Taggert's address as well as any properties owned by the Fellowship around town?"

He seemed relieved that she had stopped crying. "I'll call him now. And Sookie, it's not your fault."

She glared at him, "Yes it is, and I'm going to make it right."

He flattened his mouth into a straight line and nodded tersely, pulling his phone from his pocket and moving to the far side of the room.

She headed into the closet and quickly dressed, choosing very practical jeans and a t-shirt. Grabbing a pair of socks and her tennis shoes she went back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. Picking up the phone and calling Claudine. She tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear, she started pulling on her socks. She cursed as the phone slipped. Catching it, she heard Claudine on the other end.

"Hi Claudine, hold on, I think I can put this on speaker." she hit a button that she had only hit accidentally before. "There can you hear me?"

"Yeah, why am I on speaker?"

"I'm getting dressed. Hey do you know anyone named Aine Summers?"

"I do, I was just talking to her today, she was asking me about a school teacher, who now seems to be abducted."

"That was me, I went undercover as a teacher to the chemistry company that Taggert works at. They sent thugs to kidnap the teacher I was pretending to be." She started tying her shoes. "What was Aine doing there?"

"Our people have a lot of research going on there to make it easier for fairies to live on this plane." she paused, "No one else is there are they?" she obviously realized she may have said to much.

"Sorry, Eric is here."

"Hello Claudine." He said as he approached the bed.

"Hello Eric." Her voice was noticeably cooler toward him.

"Does Aine know how Taggert found out about the effects of fairy blood?" Sookie asked quickly. She didn't have time for vampire/fairy animosity.

"As part of the research, samples of fairy blood were supplied not that they were told what it was. It came with the warning to keep it away from vampires, but specifics weren't given. He might have experimented and found out on his own."

"Okay, Eric and I are headed to Avalon Chemicals in case they are holding her there."

"Sook, it's too dangerous." she started.

"Claudine, she was taken because of me. I'm going to save her."

"Sookie, let us handle it." Claudine started.

"No, I'm going." Sookie insisted.

"Claudine, you aren't going to talk her out of it, you'd know that if you could see her face." Eric interjected.

Sookie smiled briefly at him.

"With Eric there I don't know how much help I can be."

Sookie looked at Eric, "Do you think you can control yourself around Claudine?"

"Probably."

Sookie turned back to the phone, "Claudine, it's your call. I won't ask you to put yourself in danger. We've got to go."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. Good luck and be careful."

"Always." she turned off the phone.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Almost, grab some of the handcuffs." she gestured to the hidden cabinet.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Have you been exploring?" he asked as he headed to the cabinet.

"Tidying." she replied, her cheeks burning a little.

He opened the cabinet and pulled out several pairs of handcuffs. Turning back to her he asked, "Shall we drive or fly?"

"I'm not sure, flying would be quicker, but we might need a car." But that reminded her of their flight the other night and she went to the desk and picked up the knife, tucking it into her waistband.

"I'll call Pam and have her drive there, just in case." he pulled his phone back out. "What's the address?"

"It's in the notebook in the living room." and headed that way. She could hear Eric issuing instructions to Pam.

She grabbed the binder and pulled out the address and directions, handing the paper to him. He read the address into the phone and ended the call. She picked up the large purse. "Give me the cuffs." He did and she shoved them into the bag, then slung it across her body. "Let's go."

Once out in the penthouse gardens she stepped up onto a planter and he turned for her to climb on his back. "I forgot to buy goggles." she said as he took off and she buried her face in his back.

It took a fraction of the time to fly there as it did to drive. She could feel him slowing down and moving lower. "Are we there?" she asked, pulling her head back.

"Yes, any idea which building?" he asked.

She looked down and her arms and legs tightened around him, they were still really high. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relate the layout to her tour earlier. "I think we didn't go into any of those on that side of the complex. Let's start there."

"Okay."

He just started reducing altitude in place, lowering as if he were on a string. It was a little disconcerting, it was like he just willed himself to descend and he did. He landed silently in a grassy area. "Let's see if any of these buildings have a light on." she suggested as she slid from his back, he motioned for her to stay put, then zipped away in a blur of speed. She whispered to the air around her. "Don't you even think of trying to handle this yourself."

He reappeared in front of her with a crooked smile. "Are you kidding? I meant what I said to Claudine, I know that look."

"Good." she said, "Did you find anything?"

"There's a building over here with lights on and I can hear voices inside." He gestured to one of the buildings on the edge of the complex. She knew it was not one of the ones she toured.

"Okay, let's try it." Sticking to the grass to stay quiet he led the way to the building. When they got close, she put a hand on his arm to stop him and reached out with her mind to see how many people they were facing. Her heart sank, she detected six minds in there one filled with fear – which she assumed was Christie, one highly agitated, and four others filled with hate. She held up six fingers to Eric, he nodded. She could see his fangs were down. He was ready for action.

They circled around the building until they found a set of metal double doors. He tried the handle silently but it was locked. He motioned her to step back, then he ripped one door from its hinges. Then there was chaos. Someone screamed, she thought it might have been a man, someone else shouted "Vampire!". Eric stepped in his fangs bared, taking in the room in with a cold, sweeping gaze. She stepped in behind him, slightly to the side, but she wasn't foolish enough to completely abandon the cover he provided. Looking around she saw a woman, blindfolded and tied to a chair. Taggert and the man from Dallas she had recognized in Alex' head were off to one side as if they had been talking and three thugs were spread across the room, two of which she recognized from the pick-up. The room itself was obviously where the VampBait was being produced and packaged and Sookie got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was also an observation area behind a glass wall, as she had seen in other areas.

"Let the woman go and you might live to see the dawn." Eric commanded in his scariest voice.

"Die bloodsucker!" one of the thugs yelled as he came at Eric with a stake, Eric easily slapped him aside and he landed five feet away, motionless on the floor. One of his fellows was not as brave, he bolted for the door leading to the observation area and Eric turned to face the remaining thug. She detected the sense of triumph from the runner too late, he had already pulled on a lever, and the weighted silver net that fell from the ceiling dragged both herself and Eric to the ground.

Eric yelled in pain, too incapacitated to try to get out of the net but she was struggling, trying to crawl to the edge. Stopping only when the last thug, pulled out his gun and cocked it.

The Dallas man swaggered over, addressing Taggert over his shoulder. "You see Arthur, it wasn't paranoid to set the vampire trap." He looked at his catch, and smiled. "This is my lucky day. Not only do I catch Eric Northman, but do you know who this is gentlemen?" He pointed to Sookie and looked around at his accomplices. "This is Sookie Stackhouse, the telepath fangbanger who almost destroyed us in Dallas. Steve is going to be sorry he missed this."

"Can we stake him now?" the thug who sprung the trap asked. Sookie's heart skipped a beat.

"No, I think I have a better idea. Get the girl out of there and tie her up." he commanded, an evil gleam in his eye.

"No!" Eric yelled, he was doing his best to fight against the silver, but it was burning into his flesh.

"You are in no position to be yelling at anyone, deader!" Dallas chuckled.

The man with the stake stood over Eric, ready to strike if needed. The man with the gun flipped over the corner of the net and hauled Sookie out by her ponytail. Not giving her a chance to stand he pulled her so she had to crawl across the floor while Dallas set a chair down next to Christie. When she reached it, he released her hair and pulled the knife out of the back of her jeans. "Get in the chair." he sneered at her. Once she was seated he pulled the purse off her. She glared at him but held her tongue, he looked like he would really enjoy hurting her.

He pulled one of those plastic zip ties out of his pocket, while tucking his gun into his waistband. He twisted her arms behind the chair and expertly bound her in seconds.

"What are you going to do?" Taggert asked nervously. He was strong broadcaster, at least when he was this agitated. He was freaking out. When he came to the Fellowship with his VampBait idea, it seemed very clean to him. Sure a few fangbangers would get killed, but they were all looking to die anyway. But this was different, he wasn't supposed to see any of the deaths and he especially didn't want anything to do with the kidnapping and murder of an innocent school teacher. Sookie thought he might be the weak link she could work on.

Dallas was walking over to one of the boxes stacked by the wall. "I'm going to put your formula to the test, Arthur." He pulled a jar of the powder out of the box. Slowly unscrewing the lid he walked back to his two human hostages. "You promised us a product that would drive vampires crazy, but so far all we have seen is one attack." He held the jar over Sookie's head. "I want a demonstration." Sookie shook her head slowly.

"Please, let her go, she has nothing to do with this. I picked her name at random off the district website." Sookie begged the man, knowing it would not change his mind but it would affect Taggert.

The man started sprinkling the powder over both Sookie and Christie.

"I thought your purpose was to save people from vampires." she yelled at him. Christie was whimpering, she had no idea what was going on, or what it was that was being sprinkled on her, all she could think of was never seeing her kids again.

"No, it is to save humanity from the vampire menace, by wiping them out. This is war and in any war there are civilian casualties." Behind him Arthur paled at his words.

"How can you call yourself a Christian?" she spat at him, not attempting to mask her loathing. That struck a cord with Taggert, she had to keep pressing that button.

"Do not even attempt to disparage my righteous mission, you fangbanging slut." he raised his hand to slap her, but stopped in mid swing. She read that he didn't want to get the make-up on him. Looking past him she realized Eric had stopped struggling under the net and was sniffing the air. Her heart sank.

Dallas followed her eyes and smiled evilly, "I think he has picked up the scent. Come Arthur, let's watch this from behind the glass."

In desperation Sookie cried out to Taggert. "How can you, a scientist, work with these fanatics?"

He turned on her, that had hit the button square on. "I am a scientist, I devoted my life to studying how the world works. I rejected anything that couldn't be proven, including my faith. I turned away from my religion because it seemed like so much superstition to me. And then suddenly there are vampires, walking around when they should be dead with no possible explanation, making a mockery of everything I had come to believe in." He ran a hand through his hair. "I began to doubt science. If vampires were real then maybe God was too." He took a deep breath. "So I came back to God and offered my knowledge to him."

"So because of vampires, you found your faith again, and that's such a bad thing you want to kill them all?" she asked incredulously. She could tell that confused him.

"No, it's not that..." he stammered.

"I don't know, it sounds like you are killing the bearer of good news, to me." she shook her head. "And is this," she moved her head to indicate Christie and herself, "what you think God would want?"

"Arthur, stop listening to her." Dallas commanded, "You don't want to be in the room when we free the vampire."

Taggert's head whipped around, "You're going to free him?"

"Yes, he's going to take care of these loose ends and then we will kill him with a silver bullet from a safe distance. Now come on." Dallas had reached the door to the observation area and held it open for Taggert. Sookie slumped as she sensed self-preservation trump moral quandary in his mind, and he rushed through the door.

Dallas turned to his men. "Once this door is closed, release the vampire. Just make sure you are not between him and the women when you do." Sookie looked at Eric, he had twisted under the net to look at her. His eyes were dilated and he had the same feral look on his face as Pam had.

"Eric, honey, please snap out of it. It's the make-up, you know it is." She struggled against the plastic ties and they bit into her wrists. "Eric, it's Sookie, you know me, please it's the VampBait, you have to fight it." She looked around wildly for any thing that might be of use, but tied to the chair as she was there wasn't anything she could do. But then she realized she wasn't tied to the chair, she was tied, just not to the chair. At the very least she could try to protect Christie from Eric.

"Christie, listen to me, I'm so sorry." she said softly.

"Why, why are they doing this? I don't understand." She turned her blindfolded face towards Sookie.

"It's my fault, I was trying to find out if this place was involved in something so I posed as a teacher. I'm so sorry I picked your name." She looked toward Eric, he was licking his lips, ignoring the burning chains. "I'm going to keep myself between you and Eric for as long as I can. Get up and move back until you reach the wall and then head to the right around the wall. Maybe in the confusion you can get out." She looked towards the door and had to do a double-take. She was thankful for her years of hiding her true reactions, because her heart was soaring. There, hiding just outside the door was Claudine.

She heard the chain net clinking and turned her head sharply back to the immediate threat, which was Eric. One man was holding both the stake and the gun while the other was trying to pull the silver net off of Eric, afraid at any minute that he would be attacked, making it very slow going.

"How will I know when to go?" Christie asked in a wavering voice.

"I'm thinking when I scream would be good." One of Eric's hands had been freed and much to the relief of the thug it did not reach for him but rather Eric started dragging himself across the floor towards her. That's when it hit her that Claudine couldn't risk coming in, especially with Eric in the state he was in. But at least she could help Christie if she got out the door.

Refocusing on Eric she could tell that the thug was much more confident now that he saw that Eric had no interest in him. In fact he was excited. He was looking forward to seeing Eric kill her, Sookie's stomach twisted in revulsion when she realized he was actually turned on by it. He had the net about halfway down Eric's torso. Both arms free and already healing of the burns, he was up on his elbows, like a soldier shimmying under barbed wire. His nostrils were flaring as he came at her, his pupils completely dilated. There was less than a couple yards between them now, she fought the impulse to scoot her chair back, if Christie had any hope of surviving this Sookie had to let Eric attack her, but it did give her an idea.

"Christie, start scooting your chair back, I don't think that'll alert them." She whispered to the frightened teacher, not daring to take her eyes off Eric. "Eric! It's Sookie! Honey, you have to fight it, you have to." Sookie was relieved to see that Christie was following her advice and was already a couple of feet back.

Taking a deep breath, Sookie stood, trying to brace herself for his attack. Eric hissed at her, there was no sign of any recognition in his eyes at all. She took a step back, bumping into the chair, which scooted across the floor.

"Stop right there!" Yelled the thug with the gun, which was now pointed at her. She rolled her eyes, it would be quicker if he did shoot her, but then Christie might not get away. Then Sookie noticed someone, or something, else moving into the room. He was walking from next to Claudine, just strolling, as if he were walking through a peaceful garden. He seemed surprised when he realized Sookie could see him and held up a finger to his lips to encourage her to stay silent.

Then all her attention was on Eric, finally fully freed from the silver chains, he was on his feet in front of her. She screamed, both as a signal to Christie and out of true fright, she didn't think anyone could be confronted with this feral vampire and not scream. He grabbed her by her upper arms, his fingers contracting like steel bands and she whimpered at the pain. His face was right against hers, sniffing and licking, his eyes unseeing. She was sobbing now, "Please, Eric, if any part of you is in there at all, fight it. Please."

He had licked his way down to her throat, and she clenched her teeth in preparation for the pain to come, and come it did. He bit savagely into her neck, not just puncturing but tearing. She couldn't bite back the scream, but that only seemed to goad him on. "Eric," she gasped through the pain, "if you remember any of this remember: it's not your fault. I love you." Unfortunately this wasn't a fairy tale and those words had no magical effect. Casting about with her eyes, she could see that Christie was inching her way around the wall and the thugs were ignoring her, too caught up in the carnage before them.

Eric was shifting his hold so one arm was wrapped around her back, holding her in place as his other hand ripped her belt off. "No!" she screamed, she couldn't bear it if Eric raped her, especially if that was going to be the last thing that happened to her in this life. She started to struggle in earnest, she brought her knee up hard between his legs. He released her throat to roar in pain, his face turned to her in a fierce growl as he towered over her. She met his eyes with her own, pleading silently for him to come to his senses.

A yellow glowing wall seemed to pass through them, and his eyes changed. Suddenly there was recognition in them again and the feral look faded away. He blinked and looked down at her, his face darkening with anger as what was happening clicked into place. She sobbed with relief, but whispered, "They're watching." so only he could hear.

With a wink, to assure her he was okay, he grabbed her to him again and covered the wound on her neck with his mouth. She felt the tingle of his blood mixing with hers and his tongue licking the wound. She hid her face from view and whispered to him."There are two of them with guns, one right behind you and the other to your left." She struggled weakly as if she was almost out of strength. "They're with the Fellowship so you have to assume they have silver or wood bullets."

He nodded against her throat. "I'm going to release your hands." She nodded back. And clasped her hands together, to hide it.

"Please, Eric stop." she cried, trying to make her voice sound weak. His hands moved down behind her and easily snapped the ziptie.

"When I let go, get down." he commanded in a whisper and she nodded.

The next couple of seconds happened so fast, Sookie wasn't sure the order of events. Eric let go of her and grabbed the chair behind her, flinging it in an arc behind him. A gun went off and Eric bellowed in rage and pain as Sookie felt as if she had been hit in the side with a red-hot brick. She crumpled to the floor. She could hear a lot of yelling, breaking glass and then silence. Gingerly, her hand went to her side and it was warm and sticky.

Claudine's face appeared above her, concern evident in her features. Sookie reached out to her fairy godmother. "Claudine, you have to get Christie out of here. Get her to safety, please."

Claudine took her hand and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Shh, Sook, it's okay, she's safe." Her eyes shifted down Sookie's body. Her lips became a this straight line. "Eric!" she called.

In a blink, Eric was at Sookie's side. "Fuck!" he spat as he kneeled next to her.

She looked at him and touched his side, "Honey, you've been shot." she said with dismay, touching his already healing side.

He grinned down at her, the sad smile that people reserve for hospital visits to the very sick. "So have you." He looked at Claudine. "I only heard one shot." he said.

She nodded. "It went through you into her."

"Claudine!" Sookie shouted, "You shouldn't be so close to Eric. Eric, don't you dare bite her!" She sounded silly to her own ears, but that was important, wasn't it?

"I think Niall is taking care of that." Eric said. "Lover, this is going to hurt, but I have to check something, okay?"

She nodded, then screamed as Eric's hand slid under her side. Then everything was cool and black. She fought back against the light when her voice was being called. But a question popped into her head and she asked it, forcing her eyes open. "Who's Niall?"

Both Eric and Claudine looked relieved. Claudine answered, "Our Grandfather, mine and Claude's." she added hastily.

"Oh." Sookie replied as if that made perfect sense. "I'm cold."

"Sookie, the bullet went clean through, and I'm doing what I can to heal the wound, but you've lost a lot of blood. You're going to have to drink from me." He moved his wrist in front of her, it was already bleeding.

"Don't want to be a vampire." she said warningly.

"You won't, I would have had to drink more, but..." he hesitated.

"But what?" She asked, her breathing fast and shallow.

"Tell her, let her decide." Claudine told Eric.

"It will probably create a bond between us." He put a hand behind her head. "Sookie, you need to do this."

"Is a bond bad?" she asked Claudine, who didn't seem happy about it.

"It will tie you to Eric, but him to you as well." She looked at the wound. "I don't like the idea, but you said you loved him, and it's better than dying." she shrugged.

"You said that?" Eric asked Sookie, his expression unreadable.

She nodded, "Can the bond be broken?"

"I have heard of it being done, but I don't know how. Please drink, and I promise I will find out for you." He brought his wrist closer to her.

She gave a little nod and reached out for his wrist, he sighed in relief and brought his wrist to her mouth. She felt a warmth fill her as she drank the cold blood. Her neck and side started to tingle, almost like a foot that had fallen asleep, it displaced the pain, but became a different pain. She felt Eric pull his wrist gently away and she held it tighter. "Sookie, you've had enough."

She opened her eyes to look at him and nodded, releasing his wrist. She saw the man, or rather fairy, she had seen earlier, he was standing at her feet looking down at her, he was beautiful and ancient and seemed almost translucent. "Rest now my child," a kindly smile on his face, "you will heal."


	22. Chapter 22

Finally finished with all the proofreading so I am posting the final chapters.

As always I don't own the world or the characters, I just take them out on playdates.

Chapter 22

She woke in the bed in the apartment. Claudine was sitting at the side of the bed in the chair that Eric had been in when he drew her. She moved forward on the chair when Sookie looked around. "Where's Eric?" was the first thing she thought to ask.

"He's sleeping in one of the coffins in the guest bedroom. It's about ten in the morning." Claudine put a hand on her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Sookie's hand went to her side, she was thankful she still had her bra and panties on, although they were a mess. The skin felt hot and tight, but only slightly tender. Looking down she saw it looked very much like the stake wound. Claudine stood to better see the wound. "It's better," Sookie ventured, not clearly remembering anything but the pain from the night before.

"Turn over." Claudine asked after looking at the wound and nodding. Sookie turned and felt along her back just above her left hip. The area of tight skin there seemed larger. "The exit wound is healing well too." She brought the covers back up over Sookie.

"Christie?"

"Eric glamored her, the official story is that after they grabbed her and blindfolded her, she was driven somewhere, the car door was opened and someone said 'That isn't her.' she was then driven out on the highway and let out on the side of the road. There she waved down a passing driver and they brought her to the nearest police station." Claudine settled back into the chair. "She's back home with her family."

Sookie breathed a sigh of relief. "Who was the driver?" Assuming they wouldn't let it be left to chance that she would be picked up by someone trustworthy.

"Sam, we called him and he was able to make a plausible excuse to leave the bar and be on that road. It also gave us the opportunity to assure him that you were all right so he wouldn't be beating the door down when you didn't call."

"That was nice of him." she took a deep breath, not wanting to know the answer to the next question. "What about the others?"

"Dead." Claudine said with a satisfied gleam in her eye. It wasn't a look she had seen there before and she thought back to her conversation with Eric about fairies.

"Did Eric...?" she began, wanting, but not wanting the details.

"He killed the ones in the main room. I took care of the ones behind the glass." she seemed proud of her participation and Sookie was not going to argue now.

"Then we cleaned out the VampBait and set it up to look like a meth lab and let it blow up." at Sookie's surprised look she explained. "Burning the bodies hides the bite marks, otherwise it would be obvious that vampires were involved."

Sookie just nodded hoping that would end the grizzly description. "I think I need to go to the bathroom." She started to get up, Claudine stood to help her. But she was able to make it into the bathroom on her own.

"Are you hungry?" Claudine asked through the door.

"Yeah, but I'd love to shower first." It looked like someone had cleaned her wounds, but there were still bits of dried blood on her skin and hair.

"All right, come to the kitchen when you're ready."

The shower felt wonderful, washing away the blood and the dirt from the factory floor. Once out of the shower she looked at the wounds in the full length mirror. It was amazing. She knew that twelve hours ago she was on death's door, again, but now she looked as if she had been healing for weeks.

She put on her long robe and brushed her hair before heading to the kitchen. Claudine smiled when she saw her and began ladling up chicken soup. One of the staples Sookie had bought on her first shopping trip. Claudine placed the bowl on the dining table, which up til now Sookie hadn't used, always eating at the bar, but the table was a better height, especially with a sore abdomen. "That smells wonderful." Sookie murmured with gratitude.

"Sit, eat, I'll get you some juice." Claudine did not seem to have a problem waiting on a human. Once she was sure Sookie had everything she needed she sat across the table from her.

"Can you tell me what happened that snapped Eric out of it last night? What was that yellow light?" She blew lightly on the spoonful of soup before bringing the spoon to her mouth.

"Niall banished all trace of non-living fairy matter back to fae. That included what Eric had already inhaled." Claudine said matter-of-factly.

"That seems like powerful magic." Sookie was visibly impressed. Claudine just shrugged, she didn't elaborate further and Sookie let it drop.

After a couple of spoonfuls of soup Sookie looked up. "Claudine, what can you tell me about the bond?"

"Just what I have heard, and it isn't much, since obviously it is not something ever shared between a vampire and a fairy." She took a deep breath. "It's pretty rare, because it ties a vampire to one mortal and most of them consider themselves above that."

"What do you mean by ties?"

"Well, you know how once you drink a vampire's blood, that vampire can sense your emotions and where you are?" Sookie nodded and Claudine continued. "Well now, your emotions will bleed over onto Eric's and vice versa. If you're angry, his temper will be shorter. If you're happy, he will be in a better mood. And it will work in reverse, you might find yourself flying off the handle at someone for no good reason and if you stop and examine it you can tell it's coming from him."

"Is that all?" She could see disadvantages to that, and also why Eric would not want his emotions tied to hers, but it didn't seem like the end of the world.

"You'll each feel better when you are closer together. You'll know, mainly through the emotions, when he is awake. When he's asleep, you won't sense him at all."

"But I'm not going to die if he does or he me?"

"No, nothing like that, although the pain of the loss will be very acute and linger for a long time."

Sookie, ate her soup without comment for awhile.

Claudine broke the silence. "Sook, I'm really sorry there was no other way. Neither Niall nor I have any healing magic."

Sookie reached across the table and covered Claudine's hand with her own. "Claudine, it's okay. I'd be dead right now if it weren't for you and your grandfather, I'm very grateful."

"Do you think you can live with the bond?" the fairy asked.

Sookie smiled crookedly, "Since I couldn't live without it, I better." She had finished her soup, setting down her spoon into the bowl. Standing she stretched her arms high over her head, but contracted in pain when something twinged inside her wound.

"Are you okay?" Claudine was immediately by her side.

"Yeah, just pulled something I shouldn't have." she straightened tentatively, but the pain was gone. "Do you mind if I lay back down for awhile?"

"No, come on, I'll help you back to bed."

"I can make it. Claudine, I really appreciate you staying here to watch me, but are you sure it's safe for you?"

"I'm going to leave an hour before sundown and leave Eric a note if you haven't woken up yet." She seemed satisfied with her safety on that front.

"I'm sure you have better things to do than watch me sleep. If you want to go I'll be fine." It seemed a waste for Claudine's whole day to be taken up with watching her sleep.

"I'll just make sure you fall asleep alright and then I'll let myself out."

"Okay."

Sookie grabbed some soft cotton pajamas and went into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth, all said she was feeling much better than when she first woke.

"Pleasant dreams." Claudine said as she was drifting off.

Sookie's eyes popped open and she knew Eric was up, just seconds before the door to the bedroom opened. He was at her side before she could say hi. She could feel his concern washing over her.

"It's okay." She said soothingly, "I'm alright." Her hand cupped the side of his face.

"I'm so sorry, I almost killed you and worse." He looked at her and she could see the regret on his face and she could feel it across the bond.

"But you also saved me." she tried to feed him her forgiveness back across the invisible connection. "Look." she pulled up the pajama shirt to show the healed wound. "It's almost completely healed."

His fingers lightly traced the wound and brushed the shiny new skin. She trembled at his touch. "Does it hurt?" he asked softly.

"Only when I stretch. At least at lunchtime." She repeated her earlier stretch and this time there was no twinge. "Nope, all better."

"What do you need?" he asked. She could tell whatever she asked for he would see that she got it.

"Hold me for awhile?"

"Are you sure? After what I did?" She could feel a little spark of hope sputter across the bond.

"I'm sure." she scooted over in the bed to make room for him. Holding up the covers so he could climb in.

Reluctantly he did, he was wearing only jeans and he left those on. She leaned forward and he put his arm around her shoulders holding her lightly, like she was a delicate china doll.

"Did you know Niall before last night?" she asked after several minutes of silence. His apprehension was threatening to overcome the peace she felt in his arms.

"Yes, the Prince and I have had dealings in the past."

She sat up to look at him, "Prince?" Claudine hadn't mentioned that.

"Yes, he is the prince of the largest group of fairies, at least the largest I know of. He's the one I told you I was going to try to contact. I had no luck but Claudine must have. It's very unusual for him to become involved in worldly affairs."

"I guess he found the VampBait an important threat." she settled back against him.

"The bond was formed." he said softly.

"I know, I can feel it." she murmured, her cheek against his chest.

"I'm sorry that it was the only way to save you." he said softly.

"Do you hate it?" She asked in a whisper.

"No," He put a finger under her chin so he could look into her face. "but I am sorry it was forced upon you. You should have had more of a choice."

"It was forced upon you too." She looked at him sincerely, "Thank you for offering it." She turned her head, lying back on his chest again. "Is it hard living with a bond?"

"I don't know, I've never had one before."

"Never, in a thousand years?"

She could feel him shake his head. "Never. I never even considered it before."

She didn't know what to say to that, it seemed so sad, to go through a thousand years and never find someone you would consider letting in.

"What about Pam?" One arm moving around his chest.

"I turned her the night I met her."

"Oh." They were silent for awhile. "I meant it." she said softly, "When I said 'I love you'. I meant it." She turned so she could see his face and was surprised to see streaks of blood running down his cheeks.

"Is that what this is?" he asked cupping her face. "Feeling like a stake was going through my heart when I thought you were dying? Hating myself for what I did to you, what I almost did? Wanting to lie here, just holding you in my arms the whole night? Being willing to tie myself to you, even knowing that you might hate me for it, just so I would know you were still in the world?"

Now she had tears running down her face too. "I think so, I don't have another name for it." she said with a crooked grin.

"Then love hurts. Is it supposed to?" He said, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

"Nothing can hurt more." She pulled herself up so her face was level with his.

"I must love you then." he said with awe.

"Do you know what else?" she asked her mouth closing the distance between them.

"What?" he asked his lips brushing hers as he spoke.

"Nothing feels better either." She kissed him lightly, pulling away to look him in the eye. "I love you Eric."

He pulled her head to his and they spent the night sharing how wonderful love can feel.

This is the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I am going to leave them here awhile. Due to all the wonderful feedback I have received I will try to write more in this timeline, although I have a couple of partially finished stories that are not, that I will probably post first.


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